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J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

05

WHAT A WEEK!
BY T.C. B R I T TO N

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

Guggenheim
Offers Trump Gold Toilet

06

Unpacking the Grammys

The 60th annual Grammy Awards took
place in New York City Sunday, and if you
were playing a drinking game where you
took a shot every time someone called it
“music’s biggest night,” you are probably
still in the hospital. Get well soon!
It felt like the Grammys were six hours
long, included 50 performances and only
featured nine actual awards. OK, those

It’s not uncommon for U.S. presidents
to borrow famous pieces of art from
museums and galleries to display around
the White House. New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art loaned
two Edward Hopper works during the
Obama years, which were displayed in
the Oval Office. So the Trumps followed
suit, requesting Vincent
van Gogh’s “Landscape
With Snow” from the
Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum to hang in their
living quarters. They were
denied — the painting is
traveling to Spain for an
exhibition. The Guggenheim’s chief curator
and shade queen Nancy
Spector wrote to the
White House explaining that while she could
not accommodate the
request, she could offer
Maurizio Cattelan’s “America”
another piece: contemP H O T O : S O L O M O N R . G U G G E N H E I M F O U N D AT I O N
porary artist Maurizio
Cattelan’s interactive
first two were slightly exaggerated, but
sculpture, “America,” a fully functioning
75 categories were announced before the
18-karat gold toilet. The gaudy pisser (talkbroadcast, leaving just nine for the actual
ing ’bout the potty, not the president) has
show. I don’t want to sit through a 10-hour
been on display at the Guggenheim for a
show any more than any other casual
year— in the museum’s public restroom,
home viewer, but it sure seems like if you
no less — but now it’s available for loan.
weren’t one of a handful of mostly mainSpector included a photo of the toilet, sugstream, mega-popular artists, you might
gesting the Trumps might be interested
as well have stayed home! One notable win
in installing that instead. No word on the
you might have missed: Cincinnati-bred
White House’s response. It’d definitely
rockers The National took home their first
be a tough call for Trump: On one hand,
Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.
he’s the IRL version of Goldmember from
Nice job!
Austin Powers, but the germophobe in him
Here are some hot takes:
would probably be rightly grossed out by a
• Lil Uzi Vert wore raver pants and a mestoilet used by 100,000 strangers. Sick burn,
senger bag, looking like a kid who’d get
Nancy Spector!
questioned by a mall cop in 1997 for acting suspicious in a Hot Topic. He served
Frenchies Go
IDAGF realness on the red carpet, giving
Cuckoo for Nutella
amazingly awkward interviews: When
From savage to sauvage (that’s French
asked the ubiquitous “What’s next?” he
for “wild;” keep up, plebs): The French are
responded, “Waking up, eating some
inherently cooler than Americans. They
Pop-Tarts.”
can judge us for our love of junk food and
• Ugh. Joy Villa is back. The “singer/songholiday shopping stampedes, but it turns
writer” who was not nominated wore
out they might not be any better than us
a garish Claire’s sales rack tiara and
garbage people. One French supermarwhite dress painted to depict a fetus in a
ket chain slashed the price of Nutella on
rainbow womb. Her purse, also apparThursday and there were mobs! Scenes
ently hand-painted by a small child or
rivaling Black Friday during the Tickle-Meperhaps fetus, read “Choose Life.” She
Elmo era showed swarms of folks ransackgained notoriety last year after wearing
ing displays of the chocolate-hazelnut
a dress emblazoned with “Make Amerspread. At 70 percent off, containers that
ica Great Again” and Trump’s name.
typically went for €4.5 were just €1.41.
• Kendrick Lamar opened the show with
Some brawls even resulted in minor
a politically charged performance
injuries. Now that’s a supermarket sweep!
that included dancing soldiers, Dave
Perhaps American culture still has interChappelle interludes and a surprise U2
appearance. Kendrick was a big winner
national influence after all.

that night with five awards.
• Both Lady Gaga and Pink delivered
separate stripped-down versions of
their recent hits without any of the crazy
costumes, acrobatics or elaborate sets
they’re known for, which is fine for their
songs’ messages, but I CAME TO BE
ENTERTAINED.
• Winner of Earworm of the Year? “DES.
PA. CITO.” J/K. While Luis Fonsi and
Daddy Yankee performed their banger,
they did not walk away with a trophy.
• Sting and Shaggy — yes, as in “It Wasn’t
Me” — took the stage together and are
working on a joint album. So, this is
what’s happening in the year 2018.
• A pre-recorded sketch found host James
Corden auditioning celebrities to narrate the audio version of Fire and Fury,
musing on how it could be a Grammy
nominee next year. Hillary Clinton
made an appearance. Corden also
rudely teased that Barack Obama might
be coming onstage before revealing it
was actually Recording Academy president Neil Portnow. RUDE.
• Throughout the night, presenters and
performers spoke on behalf of gender
equality and Time’s Up, DACA and
immigrants, suicide prevention and the
victims of recent concert violence.
• SZA was the real MVP as the most nominated woman of the night, and she killed
her live “Broken Clocks” set, but she left
empty-handed. Best New Artist went to
Alessia Cara, the only woman to bring
home a trophy during the live show.
(Side eye)
• Bruno Mars arguably had the best night
of all, performing his new ’90s-inspired
single “Finesse” with Cardi B and nabbing all six awards he was nominated
for. Does that mean we can retire “24K
Magic” and “That’s What I Like?” Please?
• Elton John and Miley Cyrus (why?)
teamed up for “Tiny Dancer.” Elton
recently announced his retirement, with
his farewell tour making a stop in Cincinnati next February — as in 2019. (Will
we all even still be here?)
• Rihanna completely owned the
stage during a performance of “Wild
Thoughts,” singing live and dancing like
a goddess. Has she ever looked better?
• Speaking of goddesses, where was
Beyoncé? Husband Jay-Z was nominated
for eight Grammys (but walked away
with none), but he appeared alone at
the show’s start. Thankfully she showed
up fashionably late, and with Blue Ivy!
The Carters’ first-born should be up for
an Oscar in a new category I propose,
Best Performance in an Audience. She
sternly shushed both of her parents as
they were applauding, insisting that
they stop clapping. #OprahBlueIvy2020
Contact T.C. Britton: letters@citybeat.com

This Week in
Questionable
Decisions…
1. Hillary Clinton had people scratching their heads when, in a video, she
thanked “activist bitches supporting
other bitches.” Abuela, no!
2. Northern Ireland Secretary of State
Karen Bradley compared marriage
equality to high-speed internet, saying
that the U.K. government would not
“impose” same-sex marriage there, “in
the same way it’s not for me to impose
the way super-fast broadband is rolled
out across the country.”
3. London’s Wireless festival managed
to book only a measly three women artists compared to 30-plus male acts for
the three-day music showcase.
4. A man in the U.K. was pulled over for
using his phone while driving (which is
illegal there, unless you’re hands-free).
His excuse to the cop? “I was just putting a laughing emoji to my girlfriend.”
5. A Canadian train conductor was fired
for posting “racy” photos of herself posing on train tracks (off duty).
6. A dozen animals were disqualified
from Saudi Arabia’s prestigious camel
beauty pageant for having Botox! Yet
another example of unrealistic beauty
standards for women.
7. Barry Lubin aka Grandma the clown
of the Big Apple Circus is the latest
#HimToo after admitting to pressuring
a 16-year-old aerialist into taking pornographic photos.
8. 50 Cent “forgot” he accepted 700
Bitcoins for his 2014 album — they’re
worth more than $7 billion now.
9. The Bombay Times told LGBTQ
interviewees that they didn’t look queer
enough for a photoshoot and instructed
them on what to wear for a redo.
10. The Doomsday Clock moved 30
seconds closer to “midnight” this week,
at 11:58, the closest it’s been since the
height of the Cold War in 1953.
11. Trump affirms, “I wouldn’t say I’m a
feminist.” Ya don’t say!
12. Viewers of the Bravo reality dumpster fire Vanderpump Rules accused the
cast of using the word “pasta” as code
for illicit drugs in a recent episode.

SPORTS!

FCC May Get an MLS Franchise — If They Can Nail Down Some Details
BY JAC K B R E N N A N

“Cincinnati seems to have the edge. There
was a time when that edge seemed to
belong to Sacramento, but I think that has
changed.”
And why has that changed? Why has
Sacramento stumbled despite being seen
not so long ago as the perfect MLS pursuer?
The California capital has a long history of
courting the league, a Top 20 TV market, a
shovel-ready stadium plan and a fine fan
base.
But it’s the money, in the end. Stable
money, lots of it, and where it is and isn’t.
Cincinnati’s ownership group is headlined
by Carl Lindner III — ’nough said — while
Sacramento’s bid has been hurt by the
pullout of Meg Whitman, the very rich
eBay and Hewlett-Packard
mogul.
“One thing that has
become apparent in this
process is how much more
important deep pockets
have become,” Carlisle
said. “Not that it hasn’t
always been the case, but
now you’re talking about
a $150 million expansion
fee and a $200 million
investment in a stadium,
you need to have billionaires with a capital ‘B.’
Money will never be an
issue with Carl Lindner,
and as the cost of this
whole thing began to go up,
some fragility within the
Sacramento ownership structure has been
exposed.”
“MLS loves big money,” said Goff.
“Detroit has big money (led by billionaire
NBA moguls Dan Gilbert and Tom Gores),
and it’s a huge market that will probably
get in at some point. But their proposal of
using Ford Field (home of the NFL Lions)
instead of building a stadium has put the
brakes on their momentum.”
“Billionaires don’t grow on trees,” said
Straus.
And in addition to Lindner and his family, the Cincinnati investor group includes
Scott Farmer and the family-run Cintas
empire.
Cincinnati also has a fan base that
immediately became the largest in the USL,
well ahead even of Sacramento’s strong
support, and our town’s stadium situation
has for some time seemed close to being
resolved.
But “close” doesn’t mean “done” — like
Sacramento’s stadium deal is done — and
therein lies the one caveat Carlisle would
pose to hungry FCC fans.
“The ownership is so solid, and they only
have to get the stadium situation sorted
out, but it seems like an odd way they’re
going about it,” Carlisle said. “Someone
in their group, or someone in MLS, may
not be that thrilled with the Oakley site.

Maybe it’s whether that really qualifies as
the ‘urban core’ MLS is looking for.”
Indeed, though FCC’s official bid lists
Oakley as its stadium site, news came out
recently of FCC getting its ducks in a row
for a possible land purchase in the West
End, near Taft High School and just a few
blocks from the millennial-packed Washington Park area.
“But MLS is not going to give them the
team until they have everything figured
out,” Carlisle said, “and what this does in
my mind is to give Sacramento an opening
to find that investor who can put them over
the top.
“It just seems to me like Cincinnati is better off making a decision — ‘This is where

“I think, in soccer terms,
that we’re into stoppage
time, and that Cincinnati
has the lead and
they’re just trying
to close this out,”
said Jeff Carlisle, who
covers MLS for ESPN.
it needs to be; let’s just do this’ — rather
than hemming and hawing. I still expect
Cincinnati to get it; it’s their game to lose
at this point, but if nothing happens in a
couple months, I think it could be a time to
get worried.”
Personally, I like the West End. The
Enquirer recently ran a photo showing Taft
High’s soccer field with the downtown skyline looming large in the background, and
it spoke to me of “soccer in the city.” But
gaining necessary neighborhood support
for the plan looks dicey at best.
I’m not a big fan of Newport, Ky. It may
be as physically close to downtown as the
West End but, sorry, you cross that big river
and the city ambience takes a dip. Oakley
would be my No. 2, not in the core but still
in the city, and with vibrant hipster base.
But I’m with Carlisle. Let’s pick a darn
spot, lest Sacramento score a tying goal
in stoppage time and then beat us in a
shootout.
Contact Jack Brennan: letters@citybeat.
com

the all-new

.com

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Jeff Berding didn’t want to talk about it.
And after talking to a few other people
who ought to know something, I think I
understand why.
Outside the current kerfuffle over FC
Cincinnati stadium plans, I texted the
club’s GM seeking an updated handicap
on the issue that could make all stadium
plans moot: the race against Sacramento
for the one remaining expansion berth on
Major League Soccer’s current to-do list.
Though even more expansion is envisioned down the road — MLS teams may
someday outnumber Dollar General stores,
it seems — the city that fails to nail this
chance is stuck for an indefinite number
of years, trying to stay excited about the
second-tier United Soccer League.
But Berding politely declined to discuss
the bid, suggesting that if I needed an FCCrelated column, he’d get me an interview
with the head coach about the team’s
upcoming USL campaign.
Thanks, Jeff, but … zzzzzzzzz. It’s MLSor-bust for this futbol fan.
I can put up only so much longer with
the USL life — hosting Rochester and Bethlehem and reminding myself how to find
Channel 64 for road games that show other
franchises with perhaps 400 in the stands.
I can do more USL only if there’s assurance that after a couple more seasons — in
2020 is the thinking — FCC can graduate
into the big league and join the Reds and
Bengals as teams that bring our city a true
major league vibe.
But it’s OK that Berding declined an
audience on all that’s at stake. After acquiring the takes of three national MLS writers
— journalists who follow this for a living
but have no regional self-interest — I take
Berding’s silence as evidence he believes
FCC’s chances to be good as a penalty shot.
Thus, the entirely understandable position
that talking about it now could far more
easily foul it up than help.
My soccer panel voted 3-0 that Cincinnati is positioned to beat out Sacramento,
as well as a flagging Detroit bid that’s officially still in the running but not thought to
be truly viable for this round.
Also, the panel’s consensus is that
MLS remains desirous of awarding the
franchise before March 3, when the 2018
season begins.
So we’re talking only four to five weeks?
Get ready to party, folks.
Jeff Carlisle, who covers MLS for ESPN,
puts it this way: “I think, in soccer terms,
that we’re into stoppage time, and that Cincinnati has the lead and they’re just trying
to close this out.”
Steven Goff, of The Washington Post,
says: “My hunch is that Cincinnati is the
next team to go in. I was a little surprised
that they only named one team in December, and that Nashville was the one, not
Cincinnati.”
And from Brian Straus of SI.com:

Read us on
your phone
when you’re
at the bar
by yourself.

07

08

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |
J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

NEWS
Authentic
Connections

Jill Cleary and Molly Grace
work with students in
Mount Washington.
PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Local nonprofit Starfire
is working to radically
change the way we
interact with those who
have disabilities
BY S T EPH E N N OVOT N I

C

Their model is designed to get away from
segregating people with disabilities, Vogt
says. Instead, they work to build connections and relationships and help their
clients discover their own passions and
talents so they can lead engaged and
fulfilling lives.
Jill Cleary and Molly Grace are Community Builders with Starfire. Cleary is a paid
employee and Grace is a client, but the
Starfire team avoids these sorts of terms.
Grace, in her early thirties, became
involved with Starfire in 2010. She moved
to Cincinnati nine years ago and lives with
her mother in Turpin Hills. She has a cognitive disability, meaning she may need a
little more time to catch on to something
new, but she is able to work and maintain
relationships well.
Grace says she didn’t
have much of a social life
or luck in finding purposeful work before Starfire.
“It is hard sometimes
to get along with people,”
Grace says. “Starfire
helped me connect. It
helped me get the job
where I’m at on Fridays.”
Cleary meets with Grace
once a week. They brainstorm ways to get Grace
involved in community
life and work on ways to
deepen the connections
they’ve built. They almost

“They are treated as if they
have no sort of decision
making ability or any
ability to participate the
way the rest of us are,”
says Starfire’s director of
vision and scale Tim Vogt.

never spend time at Starfire’s office in
Madisonville. The goal is to get Grace out
in the world to build relationships that last
a lifetime.
Over the past several years, Grace has
begun a clerical job that she works every
week. She takes part in fantasy football
games with her co-workers and is on the
planning committee of Bark For Life, a
fundraiser for the local branch of the
American Cancer Society.
“I think we just try and find affiliations
where we would find good people to connect with,” Cleary says. “The overall work
of reaching out and trying to find people
that can relate to you and make a difference — I think no matter who you are, if
you just ground yourself in that, then you
can do good work together.
“I think it’s hard sometimes,” Cleary
says of Grace. “We might expect Molly to
understand what other people are thinking, but she’s only lived as herself so she
doesn’t have that perspective. I think Molly
has found a lot of good people who have
seen Molly for who she is and Molly didn’t
have to change anything about what she
naturally was.”
Vogt’s insights about the social service
industry came early in his career, when he
was a counselor at a camp for people with
physical disabilities in California.
One man at the camp had cerebral
palsy and had difficulty moving his body.
He motioned to Vogt to help him light his
cigarette and, later, asked Vogt to help him

pour a shot of whiskey into his coke.
“To me, it made perfect sense,” Vogt says.
“The guy’s on vacation, he’s 27-years-old.
People with cerebral palsy have complete
control over their intellectual faculties and
their abilities to make decisions and he
had brought it himself. So, I’m just being
his hands.”
But the head counselor didn’t see it that
way and threatened to fire Vogt.
“It struck me at that moment that here
was a great injustice,” Vogt says. “He
could still vote. He had all the rights that
everyone else had but he didn’t have the
right to have a drink on his vacation. What
happened was this weird social assumption — that he was a camper and what he
really needed was control and support.”
The moment planted seeds in Vogt’s
mind, but it would take a while for them to
bloom.
Starfire worked the standard social service model until 2010, when the organization’s leadership realized what they were
doing was helping to prop up a broken
system. Vogt was executive director at the
time and oversaw the transition toward
the collaborative and engaged model it
uses today.
Ironically, the capriciousness of U.S.
Government funding and policies has
pushed Starfire and other agencies toward
a more collaborative approach. The 2009
U.S. Supreme Court decision on Olmstead
CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

onnecting with others can be
challenging for anyone. It’s often
especially difficult for those with
cognitive disabilities, who face barriers
most of us never consider. Some may have
trouble with conversation, or aren’t able
to drive. These issues can lead to isolation
and feelings of loneliness, especially for
adults.
But helping people overcome those
obstacles is the goal of Tim Vogt, director
of vision and scale for Starfire. Starfire is
a local nonprofit that works to help those
with developmental and cognitive disabilities thrive.
The lives of most disabled people are not
considered in this way, Vogt says. Many
times, they get up and go to an institutional program multiple days a week.
Associates there are oftentimes people
who have been paid to play at being their
friends, or others with disabilities.
The person may be interested in Classic
Rock or metaphysics or horse racing or any
other thing by which people find kinship
with others. But, says Vogt, the institutional structure lumps them with other
people by disability instead. The message
is clear: You’re broken and don’t belong
with the rest of us.
“They are treated as if they have no sort
of decision making ability or any ability to
participate the way the rest of us are,” he
says.
Starfire strives, as much as possible, to
be unlike other social service agencies.

09

CITY DESK

Decisive Vote in Park Board Battle Ahead
BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

A judge’s ruling that Cincinnati Park Board
Chair Dianne Rosenberg’s term ends Feb.
1 has yet to cool the fight over her spot on
the five-member board. Will council go
along with Mayor John Cranley’s suggested
replacement, appointed Jan. 24, or hold
out?
Cranley, who wants Rosenberg out, says
his push for a new board member has
to do with financial transparency. He’s
appointed Jim Goetz, a retired vice president and chief financial officer at the David
J. Joseph Company, to fill Rosenberg’s spot.
But Rosenberg’s supporters say she should
be on the board until 2021 and that her
removal is about politics. The park board
chair is a well-respected community leader
who also leads the Greater Cincinnati
Foundation Board.
A state audit last year suggested that
the city should oversee park funds currently controlled by a private foundation.
Over the last couple years, reports of
questionable spending habits on bonuses,
travel perks and car allowances by the
foundation and board have dogged the
organizations.
The park board would like to retain control of that money, saying it is in the best
position to decide how the money is spent
and citing the city charter’s provision that
it is an independent entity.
Late last year Cranley moved to replace
Rosenberg, saying that the unexpired term
of an outgoing board member she was
appointed to fill was ending. That was a
surprise to Rosenberg, who says she was
under the impression that she was slated
to serve six years— the standard length of
a park board term.
Information on the city’s website and
original paperwork from when Rosenberg
was appointed back up her claim. But
Cranley and city administration say that
was due to a clerical error.
Those moves have led Rosenberg’s

supporters to claim that her ouster is political. Rosenberg was a supporter of Cranley’s
opponent, former Councilwoman Yvette
Simpson, in his bitter re-election fight.
“Elections have consequences,” attorney
Jim Burke, who has worked as a lawyer for
other park board members, claims Cranley
said about Rosenberg’s ouster. That claim
came in a filing related to Rosenberg’s lawsuit. “Dianne backed Yvette Simpson and
she should have offered her resignation
after the election… if she really tries to hold
onto her position by working through city
council it will be a war and I will destroy
her in the press.”
Cranley denies making that statement.
Now, after Mayor John Cranley officially
appointed Goetz again, Cincinnati City
Council must decide what to do.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because
Goetz’s nomination went before council last December. Council members
approved him 5-4. But Rosenberg filed a
lawsuit and Judge Charles Kubicki Jr. ruled
that the 2017 appointment and council
vote were illegal, since Rosenberg’s term
wasn’t up. Kubicki also ruled that Rosenberg should stay in her position until a
replacement is approved.
That wouldn’t be complicated, except
that council’s last vote was before three
new council members were sworn in. Two
of those three — Tamaya Dennard and
Greg Landsman — joined P.G. Sittenfeld,
Wendell Young and Chris Seelbach in signing a motion saying they wouldn’t approve
a replacement for Rosenberg. The five represent a majority that could sink Cranley’s
appointment.
Now the moment of truth is coming.
Council is set to vote on Goetz Jan. 31.
(Visit citybeat.com for updates). Among
potential swing votes, Dennard says she
hasn’t decided yet.
“My goal is to help us get to a positive
resolution on Wednesday,” Landsman

Where will FC Cincinnati’s stadium land
should it win a bid to join Major League
Soccer? That’s still up in the air. But
recent moves by the team suggest it could
still choose the West End over Oakley,
where it had put most of its focus up until
now.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

FCC General Manager Jeff Berding sent
a letter to Cincinnati Public School Board
President Carolyn Jones requesting a
meeting about a possible soccer stadium
in the West End at the site of Taft High
School’s Stargel Stadium.

The Cincinnati Business Courier later
reported that the team had even signed
a purchase option on land owned by the
Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority
in the neighborhood, including plots next
to several homes there. CMHA leadership
must vote on that purchase option at the
end of this month.

10

“One of the neighborhoods we have considered is the West End,” the letter reads.

But neighborhood leaders say FCC didn’t
reach out to the community first, and now

“There are multiple locations in that neighborhood where the private investment of
the stadium could generate considerable
economic impact that would be positive in
the West End and overall for our city.

Cincinnati City Hall
PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

Charter Closure
Leaves Financial and
Educational Fallout
BY N I C K SWA R T S E L L
Students once enrolled in shuttered
online charter the Electronic Classroom of
Tomorrow are starting to trickle into public
school districts and other charters, but it’s
too soon to tell how well that re-enrollment
process is going.
About 12,000 students found themselves
without classes mid-school-year after
ECOT’s sponsor organization forced it to
shut down. But so far few of those students
from the state’s largest urban areas have
enrolled in public schools near them.
Of the 1,000 students from Columbus and
Cleveland who enrolled in ECOT, only
about 100 had enrolled with the public
schools in those cities as of last week,
according to cleveland.com.
Long a darling of Republican lawmakers and

the neighborhood’s community council
says residents feel “disrespected and
ignored” by the team. Community Council
President Keith Blake told The Cincinnati
Enquirer that the potential stadium could
“impact a lot of plans” the community
has already laid. Blake later said that he
believed the team would do a good job
getting community engagement about its
stadium plans, however.
Meanwhile, FCC’s Berding says the team
actually hasn’t signed a purchase option
on the land.
Berding also says reaching out to CPS
was just the team doing necessary
groundwork to keep the West End open
as an option. Berding has said that
Oakley was still the preferred site for the
team, but that he’s waiting to hear back

said via email, “one where we lift Dianne
Rosenberg up for her very good work,
ensure that the Parks Board maintains
control over spending decisions, and puts
us on the path to getting the messiness of
all of this behind us.”
Meanwhile, Cranley is pushing hard for
his appointee.
“It is my hope that Council will not treat
Jim Goetz like Mitch McConnell treated
Merrick Garland,” Cranley tweeted this
week, referring to the Obama-era Supreme
Court Justice nominee Republicans effectively stalled out of a seat. “Goetz is more
than qualified, will reform accounting
practices and bring much need transparency to the Park Board.”

other officials, even winning awards from
Ohio State Auditor Dave Yost, ECOT is now
being forced to repay up to $80 million after
it was revealed last year that its attendance
records vastly overcounted students logging
into the school’s online learning modules.
Ohio paid ECOT more than $100 million a
year to run the online charter.
ECOT founder William Lager and his two
companies owe the state $10 million in the
near future in the fallout of the school’s
attendance data scandal. That’s on top of
the $5 million the company has already
paid. Had the companies paid that money
faster, Auditor Yost says, lawmakers may
have decided to let ECOT finish out the
year.
The online charter is fighting the state
in court over how much it owes and how
it will pay the money back. The latest
proposal by the school: stop payments to
Lager’s companies, which receive fees for
managing the school, and in exchange be
allowed to finish out the year.

about traffic studies that will measure the
potential impact of a stadium there.
The FCC GM also promised the team
would do robust community engagement
in whatever neighborhood it selects.
Of course, all that hinges on whether FCC
gets a Major League Soccer expansion
franchise — something we may not find
out until February.
That delay could have something to do,
oddly enough, with American football. As
it turns out, the New England Patriots’
President Jonathan Kraft is also chairman
of the MLS’ expansion committee. The
Patriots, owned by Kraft’s father Robert,
are Super Bowl-bound. That means Kraft
will likely have his attention trained on the
NFL for the next couple weeks.

FROM PAGE 09

v. L.C. requires states to get rid of the
unnecessary segregation of persons with
disabilities. This revision to the Americans
with Disabilities Act essentially pushes
for less institutions and more community
building.
In a way, that was a vindication for
Starfire, which lost some donors and even
saw one client’s family call for Vogt to be
fired during the 2010 transition to a collaborative social service.
But there’s a flipside to the approach:
There are thousands of locals who qualify
for Starfire’s services but only about 100
clients can be served by the organization
on an annual basis.
Budget restraints, very little turnover
among clients and increasingly restricted
Medicaid funding mean Starfire can’t
serve everyone who needs its help.
According to Starfire Executive Director
Candice Peelman, about 30 percent of
Starfire’s funding comes from Medicaid.
Medicaid waivers, which offer a community alternative to institutionalization, allow recipients to participate in the
Starfire program. That funding is threatened in the current political landscape.
“The last I heard from Hamilton County,
there were about 3,000 people waiting
to get a Medicaid waiver,” Peelman says.
“And that’s not a very fast moving list. Our
question at Starfire would be, ‘How do

we find natural connections and natural
support when we know we don’t know the
future of Medicaid?’”
Other agencies have also responded to
the shifting landscape.
Wendy Partridge says she founded Chicago-based nonprofit Heroes of the Game
so that she could provide some normalcy
for her Autistic adult son and others in her
region with cognitive disabilities.
She says she regularly seeks advice from
the Starfire team. Heroes works with about
20 people with a variety of disabilities and
helps them find their place in society.
“We’re just trying to help them have a
normal life,” Partridge says. “I met Tim a
few years ago and really liked what he was
doing and I’ve learned a great deal from
him.”
The future of social services in America
is not getting any cheaper, Peelman says.
“For us, we’ve said we are going to play
in the space of community and natural
resources and already existing experiences
that people can go to that don’t cost a lot
of money,” she says. “There are places and
there are people that already exist for all of
us. How do we start helping people think of
it that way?”
Starfire is located at 5030 Oaklawn Drive
in Madisonville. To learn more, visit
starfirecincy.org.

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11

12

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |
J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

STUFF TO DO

Love is in the Air...
Valentine’s Day may be built on corporate
lust, but hey, it’s also an excuse to buy
heart-shaped chocolate (or you can work
the capitalist system by buying it a day
after at 50 percent off…). Here at CityBeat,
we don’t believe you need a significant
other to be a complete person, but there
are events happening around the Queen
City that will make you swoon. Go with a
lover, yourself or platonic pals.
Valentine’s Day Cruise — Hop on BB
Riverboats for a cozy evening cruise.
Feed yourself with a buffet dinner (menu
includes lobster mashed potatoes, spinach salad topped with walnuts, Asian
glazed salmon and vegetarian primavera)
and relax to the sound of the Ohio River
lapping against the boat as soft music
plays. 7-9:30 p.m. Feb. 10, 14 and 17. $60
adults; $40 children. 101 Riverboat Row,
Newport, Ky., bbriverboats.com.
Galentine’s Day at The Rook — Celebrate
lady friends (or just pals in general) Valentine’s Eve, a day declared “Galentine’s
Day” by Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation fame. The Rook will celebrate with
board games, snacks and a short session
of Magical Girl RPG, designed by Emily
Reinhard. Plus, whip up some cool crafts
for your friends. Ticket price includes
snacks and $10 will go toward Super
Heroines, Etc., a nonprofit that seeks to
empower women to embrace their inner
nerd. 7-10 p.m. Feb 13. $25. 1115 Vine St.,
Over-the-Rhine, eventbrite.com.

WEDNESDAY 31

ONSTAGE: The Humans
at Ensemble Theatre is a
powerful play about people.
See Curtain Call on page 32.

ONSTAGE: Million Dollar
Quartet continues at the
Playhouse in the Park. See
review on page 33.

Lil’ puppo at My Furry
Valentine
PHOTO: PROVIDED

Valentine’s Dinner at Cincinnati Zoo —
Can you feel the love tonight? Hang out at
the “sexiest Zoo in America.” Enjoy closeup critter encounters, a buffet dinner
and a champagne toast and learn about
the “Wild Side of Love,” a night of insight
into the love (and lust) lives of animals in
the wild kingdom. Fun. 6-9 p.m. Feb. 10
and Feb. 11; 6:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 14. $175
per couple. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical
Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org.
Candlelit dinner at White Castle —
Chow on some classy burgers at a slightly
more classed-up White Castle, which
started accepting reservations for this
dinner as early as Jan. 4. A yearly tradition, the decadent experience includes
sliders, dripping with American cheese
and grease, fried shrimp and strawberry
milkshakes. Imagine: the White Castle
logo reflected in your lover’s gaze. 4-9 p.m.
Feb. 14. Prices vary. Multiple locations,
whitecastle.com.

MUSIC: Country/Punk Joe
Buck Yourself plays Southgate House Revival. See
Sound Advice on page 44.
FILM: The Jewish & Israeli
Film Festival kicks off with
Hummus! The Movie. See
feature on page 34.

EVENT: Drink & Draw: Eff
Cupid
Head to the CAC’s next
installation of Drink & Draw
for a night of “drawing
games and drinks that
have nothing to do with

Valentine’s Day.” Eff cupid
as you play crazy versions of
classic games like giant Pictionary while sipping on specials from the CAC bar. Fun
with friends! Note: You are
allowed to come with your
significant other, but don’t
be mushy about it. 6-8 p.m.
Thursday. Free admission.
Contemporary Arts Center,
44 E. Sixth St., Downtown,
contemporaryartscenter.org.
— MAIJA ZUMMO

FRIDAY 02

MUSIC: Local Art Pop band
Why? kicks off a U.S. tour
at Woodward Theater. See
interview on page 42.

EVENT: Cincy Winter
Beerfest
It’s time to use that last Uber
gift card from Christmas:
Cincy Winter Beerfest is
back in town. Join brewers from Cincinnati and
across the country at one

of three sessions throughout the weekend to sample
hundreds of craft beers.
There will be new, classic and specialty beers
from locals like 16 Lots,
Braxton, MadTree and Mt.
Carmel and out-of-towners
including 21st Amendment,
Abita, Bells, Brooklyn and
more. Opt for a standard
entry (which includes 25
samples) or go big with a
Connoisseurs Reception,
which includes 25 samples,
a souvenir snifter glass, a
reception area, light bites
and a private bathroom. In
addition to beer, Beerfest
celebrates live music and
proceeds will be donated to
the Big Joe Duskin Music
Foundation, dedicated to
supporting music programs
in underfunded elementary
and junior high schools.
Read more about beer in
this week’s Beer Issue on

EVENT: Blue Moon
Eclipse
“Once in a blue moon.” It’s
an idiom that means “very
rarely,” but, fun fact, it also
refers to a real lunar event:
the second full moon in a
calendar month. There’s a
blue moon this Wednesday
morning and, not only is it a
blue moon, it’s also a blue
moon eclipse. The Cincinnati Observatory will open
early for any eclipse enthusiasts excited to view the
spectacle as the sun, moon
and earth align. Although
from Cincinnati you’ll only be

was going to miss the
area — and his hometown of
Pittsburgh — but, surprise,
it doesn’t and he and his
news team are stuck in this
little town. Phil is kind of
an arrogant jerk and thinks
everyone there is a hick, but
after he’s trapped overnight,
Phil realizes it’s worse than
he imagined. He has to
relive every single Feb. 2 in
Punxsutawney again and
again until he learns some
kind of lesson about life and
love. It’s like a Scrooge tale
but with groundhogs and a
lot of suicide attempts. 10
p.m. Friday. $10 adults;
$7.50 seniors/children.
Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow
Ave., Clifton, esquiretheatre.
com. —MAIJA ZUMMO

SATURDAY 03

MUSIC: ElectroPop Jam
duo BoomBox play 20th
Century Theater. See Sound
Advice on page 44.
MUSIC: J-Live
In 1995, underground Hip
Hop circles began to buzz
about deft MC/DJ/producer
J-Live’s debut track “Braggin’
Writes.” The 1996 followup “Can I Get It?”/“Hush the
Crowd” single raised anticipation for a J-Live album to a
fever pitch. That album, The
Best Part, became the stuff

of legend in a very circuitous way. Due to numerous
industry obstacles, The Best
Part didn’t surface until 2001,
and its arrival was somewhat
muted due to the endless
delays and bootlegs. Still,
some consider the album an
underground classic, with
its Soul and Jazz grooves,
production contributions
from DJ Premier and Prince
Paul (among other luminaries) and J-Live’s remarkable
flow and lyrical prowess.
While some postulate about
the heights he would have
achieved had that debut fulllength been handled properly, J-Live stayed focused
and dedicated to his art.
He’s continued collaborating
on others’ music and releasing high-quality solo material
independently ever since,
including his most recent
album, 2015’s How Much is
Water? 9 p.m. Saturday. $8;
$10 day of. Northside Yacht
Club, 4227 Spring Grove
Ave., Northside, northsideyachtclub.com. — MIKE
BREEN
EVENT: Radio Artifact
Fundraiser
Radio Artifact is the independent AM radio station
that broadcasts local music
and programming out of
Northside brewery/taproom
Urban Artifact. And as the
station continues to grow,

it needs to raise funds for
maintenance and equipment.
Saturday evening’s smorgasbord of music is available
for a donation of your
choosing. How much would
you pay to see Paper Doll
Scissor Fight, Go Go Buffalo,
Lipstick Fiction, Fycus, Fritz
Paper, Grave Clothes and
Juan Cosby & Friends? You
decide at the door. Like a
choose-your-own-adventure
but focused on fundraising
and you not being a cheapass. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday.
Donation at the door. Urban
Artifact, 1660 Blue Rock St.,
Northside, radioartifact.com.
— MAIJA ZUMMO
ART: WITH NO MEMORIES,
NO TIES, NO PHANTOMS
TO TEND FOR at Wave
Pool
Curated by Wave Pool
gallery’s first curatorial
resident, Abby Mae Friend,
WITH NO MEMORIES, NO
TIES, NO PHANTOMS TO
TEND FOR is a multi-media
exhibition of works inspired
by a Eunsong Kim essay
titled “Found, Found, Found:
Lived, Lived, Lived,” which
explores the ghostly fragments of cultural identity that
colonialism separates from
the individual. On Saturday,
the gallery’s upstairs “locker
room” will present an interactive screening of short films
by contributing artist Merritt

SATURDAY 03

COMEDY: Jerry Seinfeld
Twenty years since Seinfeld’s departure from
network television, the seminal sitcom’s frontman endures as a slowly pulsing strobe in the
collective conscious. Jerry Seinfeld is to laugh
tracks and mainstream Postmodernism what
Garfield is to color newsprint and Bart Simpson
is to bootlegged T-shirts — he’s an exploitable
icon that evokes nostalgia and a surreal sense
of emptiness each time you see his name.
Would the @Seinfeld2000 Twitter handle be as
absurdly funny if Fraiser screencaps served as
its source material? Would we care to watch
Seinfeld’s Netflix show, Comedians in Cars
Getting Coffee, if he weren’t behind the wheel?
This Saturday, find out why his signature brand
of observational stand-up persists as a pillar of
American pop culture. By popular demand, he’s
performing two sets at the Aronoff Center, setting his sights on a year’s worth of national and
international performance. 7:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday. $50-$175. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St,
Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. — JUDE NOEL

MUSIC: Indie trio Weakened Friends head to
MOTR Pub. See Sound
Advice on page 45.
EVENT: Chocolate in the
Chapel
The sweetest entrepreneurs
in town are showcasing
their chocolatey goods
Sunday afternoon during
Spring Grove Cemetery &
Arboretum’s fourth-annual
Chocolate in the Chapel
event. Chocolats Latour,
Treats by Tiff, Kilwins at the
Greene, SugarSnap! and
other local favorites will
being providing samples and
selling their treats at Norman Chapel just in time for
Valentine’s Day. Support the
community while stocking
up on endorphin-releasing
candies, and feel no guilt:
a mini walking tour will be
offered at 1 p.m. Noon-3
p.m. Sunday. Free. Spring
Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, 4521 Spring Grove
Ave., Spring Grove Village,
springgrove.org.
— MCKENZIE ESKRIDGE
EVENT: Super Bowl
Watch Party at Lachey’s
Calling all football fans:
If you feel like leaving
your living room Sunday,
Lachey’s is hosting a Super

FILM: Chicagoland Shorts
Vol. 3
A feuding family, sketchily
animated in pencil, is eaten
by rogue termites. A Hebrew
Israelite church conducts a
worship service. Abstract
lines and shapes swoop
across a pitch-black background, mimicking avian
flight. The third installment
in Full Spectrum Features’
Chicagoland Shorts series
is a collection of 10 experimental films that display the
diversity of the Windy City’s
arts scene. The hour-long
collection comes to The
Mini Microcinema Tuesday,
showcasing the work of nine
directors in three languages.
7 p.m. Tuesday. $5 donation.
Mini Microcinema, 1329
Main St, Over-the-Rhine,
mini-cinema.org. — JUDE
NOEL

YOUR WEEKEND TO DO LIST: LOCAL.CITYBEAT.COM

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

COMEDY: Kathleen
Madigan
Kathleen Madigan, like
many comics, is talking a
bit more about politics in
her set these days. “It’s so
in our face,” she says. “You
can’t even get on Twitter
without hearing something
about something. That’s
why I don’t want Oprah as
our next president. I don’t
want a loud person. I want a
quiet person that does their
job.” Like it or not, she points
out, we’re all in this. “Even if
you say, ‘I’m going to ignore
Trump,’ well, good luck with
that.” Trump is not taking up
that much of her act though.
After all, she was selling out
theaters long before Trump
became president. “I’m
mostly talking about the
smaller things I’ve talked
about forever: my family,
travelling and the silly things
in life,” she says. “Even the
Trump stuff I keep light and
silly... I just try and point out
the absurd.” 8 p.m. Saturday.
$32.50. Taft Theatre, 317 E.
Fifth St., Downtown tafttheatre.org. —P.F. Wilson

SUNDAY 04

15

16

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |
J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

Some creative can designs
from local brewers.
PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

H

ave you ever held a
craft beer can in your
hand and wondered
who came up with the
artwork? Cincinnati has
more than 35 breweries
and about half of them
bottle and can their
beers for distribution. And in the ever-saturating market of cool craft beers, not only
does taste matter but so does design —
especially if you’re trying to grab shoppers’
eyes in stores or taprooms.
Here are some local breweries that have
their identities well thought out, crafting
cans to create maximum visual impact and
weave stories for current — and future —
fans of their artful brews.

Rhinegeist

Beer can design sets local breweries
apart on store shelves
BY G A R I N P I R N I A

Braxton
Braxton takes a similar approach with
their cans. Keith Neltner of local Neltner
Small Batch designed the original can of
Storm, a golden cream ale. “We wanted to
do something classic but clean,” says Jonathan Gandolf, Braxton’s chief marketing officer; Covington neighbor Durham
Brand & Co. now does the graphics.
Braxton’s core lineup of cans are color
coded — Storm is blue, Dead Blow has
a greyish tint — and feature a large oval
emblem in the middle with the name of the
brew and Braxton’s logo: an eagle with a
body made of hops.
“We do try to maintain the same hierarchy throughout all of our cans,” Gandolf
A rendering of Listermann’s
Slow As Molasses label
PHOTO: PROVIDED

says. “This will help us shelf block when
they’re all in the store together.”

Urban Artifact
Whereas Rhinegeist and Braxton employ
a more fundamental concept, every can of
Urban Artifact beer has a narrative behind
the hand-drawn label. In 2016, the brewery
started canning its wild-caught yeast beers
and tasked Scott Hand, an architect who
helped design and construct the Northside
brewery/taproom, with helping to create
the labels.
“Our beer names are all versions of
artifacts — either items, jobs, fossils, etc.,”
Hand says. “And we like the label to have

Listermann/Triple Digit
Five years ago, Listermann/Triple Digit
tapped Hamilton design company LemonGrenade Creative to conceptualize the
brewery’s 16-ounce four-packs of cans,
bottle labels and tap stickers. In August,
they redesigned the brewery’s logo.

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

In 2017, Rhinegeist created around 90 different labels for their drafts, bombers and
cans. Their design method is simple: place
their skull logo front and center with the
name and type of beer in lettering below,
then surround it with multi-colored stripes
or fi ll the entire can with one color.
“The clean, distinctive look comes from
a desire to create something timeless that
would also stand out among the visual
clutter at the craft beer shelf,” says Greg
Althoff, Rhinegeist’s creative director.
“Since we do release quite a large number
of beers in a year, we wanted to have a
packaging system that is relatively easy to
update and maintain as well.”
The pink cans of the brewery’s rosé ale
Bubbles parallel the pink color of the cider
beer, and hoppy ale Dad features a tartan
print plaid — a pattern that evokes something a father would wear.
“Sometimes, we use color combinations to represent the fl avor profi le,”
Althoff says. “Other times, like in the
case of Dad or Andromeda (with a galactic blue theme), we push the artwork to
support a concept.”

ART AND CRAFTS

a memorable visual representation of that
word.” For instance, Keypunch, a seasonal
gose made from key limes, is named after a
female punch-card-machine operator from
the 1960s.
“We decided that we liked the idea that
the perennial beers and goses would all
have characters that represent the beer
names,” Hand says. “Some are a bit more
cartoonish, but hopefully rooted in the history of the name.”
For instance, Leonardo da Vinci’s
sketchbook contained a rendering of a
flying machine based on a whirling motion
(basically a primitive helicopter), which
inspired the drawing on the label for the
blueberry-flavored Whirligig beer. Hand
says the background of three different blue
watercolor washes complements the bluehued beer, made with fresh blueberries.
“The swirling blues are really what pull the
flavor onto the aesthetics,” he says.
Depending on the idea, it takes Hand
anywhere from 10 hours to a week to complete a draft of a label. He generates the
sketches using a felt-tipped pen and paper
and then scans them into a computer.
Scott Hunter, Urban Artifact’s co-founder
and chief of strategic development, and Bret
Kollmann Baker, co-founder and chief of
brewing operations, also contribute to the
ideas. Hand gets to work before the beer has
finished brewing — unless it’s a barrel-aged
beer — but they talk through the flavor profile, fruits and concept before he starts, he
says. Like Rhinegeist, they produced more
than 90 different labels in 2017.

17
CONTINUES ON PAGE 18

I

~ Craft Beer Bingo ~

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

t’s the 11th annual Cincy Winter Beerfest at the Duke Energy Convention Center this weekend
and that means you can sample hundreds of crafts beers from more than 150 local and
national breweries (probably not all at once…).
Bring this beer bingo sheet with you if you’re attending and sample your way through these
local crafts on the event’s beer list. Or take it with you to various taprooms to play Craft Beer Bingo
with your friends. Note: You will win nothing if you complete the Bingo sheet other than our utmost
respect and the respect of your friends and the general public anytime you flash your completed
card. (Or, if you do complete it, tag @citybeatcincy and maybe we’ll give you something.)

18

Black Raspberry
Chocolate Chip
Milk Stout

Lock & Dam #37
Scotch Ale

Old Betsy
Imperial

Doom Pedal
White Ale

Hazy River
NE IPA

13 BELOW

16 LOTS

50 WEST

BAD TOM SMITH

Hold the
Reins English
Mild

On the Black
Cascadian
Dark Ale

Vlad the
Impaler Czech
Pilsner

My Blue
Heaven

Cookies for
Breakfast
Milk Stout

BRINK

DOGBERRY

FRETBOARD

GRAINWORKS

LISTERMANN

Identity
Crisis Porter

Power
Stoutage
Stout

Little
Kings

Hibernation
Black
IPA

Uptown
Avondale
American Stout

MAD TREE

CHRISTIAN MOERLEIN

SCHOENLING

MT. CARMEL

NINE GIANT

Carpathian
Dunkel
Lager

Cafe Ink
Imperial Stout
with Coffee

Roebling
Porter

Wicked Elf
Belgian
Strong Ale

Return of the
Mac Coffee
Blonde

QUEEN CITY BREWERY

RHINEGEIST

RIVERTOWN

ROCKBOTTOM

STREETSIDE

Winterbrau
Lager

Major Kool
Farmhouse Ale/
Saison

Chariot
Cherry
Gose

Scottish
Ale

Salmon
Short Sighting
Blonde

TAFT’S

TAP & SCREW

URBAN ARTIFACT

WEST SIDE BREWING

BRAXTON

FROM PAGE 18

Every month, Listermann releases
quirky new cans from their Hip Hop and
animal-inspired New England-style IPA
series. The brewery and the design fi rm
spitball ideas back and forth. “Usually
they provide the name of the beer and
we present concepts,” says Thommy
Long, LemonGrenade’s creative director.
“For example, for their peanut porter
called Nutcase, I quickly sketched a
peanut in a straight jacket and they
loved the idea and they have been using
it ever since.”
For the East Coast Hip Hop line,
Listermann will send LemonGrenade
a photo of rappers and they’ll superimpose hops (get it?) over the faces, like
with the beer Biggie (named after The
Notorious B.I.G.).
“When we rebranded Listermann, we
made the artwork the most dominant
part of the label,” Long says. “Even the
brewery name is on the side of the label,
so it is all about the art.”
The team at LemonGrenade sometimes hand sketches the art, such as for
the can design for Brass Monkey and
Slow As Molasses imperial oatmeal
stout, which features a sloth hanging
from a tree.
However, Listermann’s most famous
line of cans feature the Cincinnati
Zoo’s princess of the people: Fiona the
hippo. Since last summer, Listermann
has released several limited-edition
brews named after the photogenic cutie
including Team Fiona and variants
Team Fiona: Bifi, DDH Team Fiona and
Team Fiona: Birthday, for her fi rst birthday. On Birthday’s can, there’s a photo
of her donning a superimposed party
hat. During Fiona can releases, there are
lines out the taproom door of fans trying
to get their hands on a pack.
“I could’ve hand drawn those labels
and they would’ve sold just as fast,” says
Listermann’s general manager Jason
Brewer (who is not an artist).
The zoo series isn’t limited to just
Fiona, though — Listermann brewed a
black IPA named after Kendi, the zoo’s
new black rhino calf. The zoo provides
the photos of the animals and LemonGrenade adds colors based on them;
Kendi has accents of gray and black on
the can and Fiona brews are usually
tinted with hues of pink and purple.
Besides zoo animals, Listermann
has also released cans with photos of
employees’ pets on them. Hank the
Dumpster Kitty IPA is based on a kitten
they found in the brewery’s dumpster.
Babycat Meowface double IPA was a bit
of a challenge for the fi rm because they
only had a blurry iPhone image to work
with. “We turned a boring photo into a
Die Hard-ish type movie poster,” Long
says.
Listermann doesn’t have a huge marketing budget, so every label needs to
count, Brewer says. “It’s gotta be something that we really love for us to say, OK,
it’s going to be a can design.”

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

19

New and
Coming-Soon
Breweries
BY J U D E N O E L

U

THE POWER OF

PINK BOOTS

Natalie Blair, a brewer at
Rhinegeist, is just one example of
women working in the local beer
industry.

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Female brewers bridge history and innovation
in the taproom, brewing floor and classroom

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

|

BY L E Y L A S H O KO O H E

20

T

he girls are back in town. And by
town, we mean brewery. At breweries
across Cincinnati — and the country
— women are becoming ever more present
on the production floor, in the taproom and
even in the classroom, teaching each other
about the ancient craft.

To be honest, it’s not so revolutionary
that women are stepping to the forefront
of the beer industry, but rather that society
is finally beginning to recognize it as a
normal occurrence.
“There are tons of female brewers or
tons of women in production,” says Natalie

Blair, a brewer at Rhinegeist. “I mean, beer
started with women. Alewives were the
first women who brewed beer.”
In ancient Mesopotamia, brewing was
a job performed by women, or “alewives”
— a trend that continued into the Middle
Ages. Their hymns to honor the Sumerian
beer goddess, Ninkasi, doubled as beer
recipes, which were passed down from
woman to woman. The Pink Boots Society,
an international organization that assists,
inspires and encourages women in the
beer industry, also educates on the notso-secret tradition and legacy of female
brewers.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

nderstanding Cincinnati requires
a solid grasp of the past and the
present: our city continually grows
and innovates, while our people hold
steadfast to our traditions and heritage.
Bridging this divide is our communal love
of craft beer. Local breweries played a
pivotal role in Cincy’s history, sparking
an economic boom at the turn of the 20th
century that even managed to circumvent
Prohibition. Thanks to entrepreneurial
spirit, the city has reclaimed its roots as a
community of brewers and beer aficionados, with new faces seeming to crop up
each month. Here’s a formal introduction
to some of these newcomers.

16 Lots
Mason, 16lots.com

Twenty years of home-brewing experience and a bachelor’s degree in chemical
engineering are evident in Jeff Cosgrove’s German-inspired beers, ranging
from APAs to pilsners and porters. His
company takes its name from the 16 lots
of land purchased by Revolutionary War
officer William Mason that expanded
into Mason, Ohio, where Cosgrove and
his friend Mike Burton later founded the
city’s first brewing company. Holding firm
to the area’s history, 16 Lots’ aesthetic is
inspired by the American Colonies’ military uniforms, marked by a logo modeled
after 18th-century surveying tools.
Brews to try: 16 Lots’ flagship APA is
the 1803, which pays tribute to the year
Mason was founded with a distinct citrus
flavor and aroma.

Bircus
Ludlow, Ky., bircus.com

Bircus beckons from the intersection
of your subconscious that joins childlike wonder and affinity for ale. Ludlow’s
first microbrewery is the product of two
concepts you’d never expected to pair so
well: the acrobatic surreality of trapeze
performance and the full-flavored innovation of craft beer. Former Ringling Bros.
clown and Circus Mojo founder Paul Miller
serves as the company’s CGO (Chief
Goof-Officer). Since officially opening
up shop in late December, he’s offered
a unique sipping experience that brings
juggling, fire-breathing and hula-hooping
to the nearby Ludlow Theatre and other
local venues.
Brews to try: The oddly named Comic
Walrus was inspired by one of the circus
acts that frequented Ludlow Lagoon in the
late 1800s. It’s tinged with cranberries.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

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FROM PAGE 20

“Women in beer are growing all the
time,” says Carla Gesell-Streeter, operator
of the blog Hoperatives and leader of the
local chapter of The Pink Boots Society.
A professor, Gesell-Streeter also instituted the Brewing Science program at Cincinnati State Technical and Community
College, which offers students a two-year
Associate of Science degree in the field.
Inspired by the popularity of the craft beer
movement, coupled with Cincinnati’s own
rich brewing history, she took a sabbatical
from Cincinnati State to research putting
together the school’s brewing program.
She visited the Niagara College Teaching
Brewery in Ontario, Canada, which offers
what she says is one of the best two-year

programs in the world, along with a few
others, before firing off emails and meeting
with as many local breweries and distributors in Greater Cincinnati as possible to
get curriculum input, suggestions and
perspective.
“We started in fall of 2015,” GesellStreeter says. “We offered our first Intro
to Craft Beer class — two of them, there
was such popularity — and then the next
year we offered the sales and marketing
certificate. And then this past year was the
two-year degree.”
Currently, the program has a female
enrollment of 20 to 30 percent, with students studying for the two-year degree and
the brewing certificate. There’s also a brewing sales and marketing certificate.
Rhinegeist’s Blair took a slightly

different path to brewing.
“I started out third shift, working on
our cask canning line, which was in the
taproom where the second bar is now,” she
says. “I worked overnight and felt like an
animal in a zoo, but it was an incredible
experience. I’d been teaching at the school
of architecture at Miami University before
that and, just, I was kind of over it. And
found my way into beer. It’s great.”
Now, two-and-a-half years in, Blair
works first shift at Rhinegeist (4 a.m. to
noon), which employs brewers around
the clock. She’s up at 3:15 a.m. and at the
brewery by 4. She and three other members of the first-shift brew team (including
a brewing assistant) get the low-down from

Little Miami Brewing Company
Milford, littlemiamibrewing.com

Founded by brothers-in-law Dan Lynch
and Joe Brenner, Milford’s Little Miami
Brewing Company sits on the banks of
its namesake river, pouring 11 beers
alongside a selection of brick-oven pizzas.
The RJ Express is the menu’s most inventive offering: it’s topped with pepperoni,
sausage, banana peppers and toasted
almonds. Is 2018 the year we make nuts
on pizza a thing? Will legumes usurp

raft beer is getting woke.
Listermann Brewing Company will honor International Women’s Day for the second year in a row by
releasing three different farmhouse ales brewed by women
from the local community. On that day — March 8 — the
brewery will be donating 10 percent of the female-brewed
bottle sales and a dollar of every pint sold to Women Helping
Women, a Cincinnati-based organization that supports survivors of gender-based violence with counseling and job training
programs. The century-old holiday both celebrates progress
toward gender equality and calls for further action.
Former taproom manager Karenna Brockman introduced
the idea last year with the Riveting Rosie Hibiscus Saison. This
year, marketing director Kristen Ballinger and current taproom
manager Nicole Freeman have taken the reins and are excited
to build on the success.
“It was one of the most packed Wednesdays we’d ever had,
so I’m hoping to raise more money for Women Helping Women
and get more community involvement and just have women
connecting over beer,” Ballinger says.
The three styles of beer — Riveting Rosie, Call to Farms and a
yet-to-be-named ale — were brewed in January during a training session led by Ballinger and Freeman that invited women
from the area to learn the basics of brewing. Ten participants

22

Women from the community gathered to brew beer on Jan. 22.
PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

from various backgrounds filtered in and out throughout the
six-hour process that doubled as a networking event.
“It’s such a male-dominated industry,” Ballinger says “so it’s
great to get women involved.”
Listermann didn’t just rely on ladies for the brew; they also
collaborated with local artists to design the bottle art. White
Whale tattoo artist Jaclin Hastings drew inspiration from Rosie
the Riveter when she designed the single bottle last year, but
since Listermann has expanded to three recipes, Ballinger has
called on more Cincinnati creatives to pitch in, including artists Katie Jaeger and Kaycie Coy.
If you can’t get enough feminist bottle art, fear not — Listermann’s got more than beer on tap. National Screen Printing
will be on site to copy the bottle designs over to T-shirts. Notching the festivities up another level, Sassy Snaps photographer
Amanda Reed is bringing her photobooth, stocked with props
like red bandanas that pay tribute to women who’ve been chipping away at gender barriers for generations.
The love for women doesn’t stop at the bar. Listermann’s
in-house food vendor, Renegade Grille, is run by Kris Buening
of food truck Renegade Street Eats. After “some serious soul
searching,” she quit her job, gathered help from family and
friends, and built up a dream. The Grille opened in the taproom
in June of last year.
The International Women’s Day party with a purpose starts
at 5 p.m. March 8 at Listermann’s taproom (1621 Dana Ave.,
Norwood). More info: listermannbrewing.com.

pineapple’s reign as the most controversial topping? Ponder these questions
and more over glasses of Bike Path, a
European-style lager with spicy, noble
hops, and Blackbird Fly, unfiltered American wheat blended with real blackberries.
Brews to try: Pterodactyl is worth a
sip based on its name alone. It’s a classic
Bavarian wheat beer infused with hints of
banana and clove.

Happy 2 Brewing Company
Anderson, facebook.com/
happy2brewing

What could be a more happy medium
of comfort food classics than pizza and
beer? Located within Mio’s Pizzeria,
Happy 2 Brewing works on a small scale,
using a two-barrel system that brews
exclusively for the taproom. “It leaves our
experimentation and drive to make interesting beers wide open,” says co-owner
Dan McGrath, who says that although
many breweries cash in on a burgeoning
market, H2B “functions for the love of the
craft.”
Brews to try: McGrath recommends
Also Amber, Happy 2 Brewing’s signature
lager and the mildly hoppy Vision.

West Side Brewing
Westwood, westsidebrewing.com

Hoping to revitalize Westwood’s business
district, West Side Brewing Company
opened its doors in summer 2017, offering
30 taps’ worth of beers and wines. It’s a
family-friendly and community-oriented
establishment, featuring cornhole, live
music and a steady rotation of food trucks.
Pet lovers can cart their fur babies to
weekly Dog Friendly Tuesdays, which
CONTINUES ON PAGE 25

Bridging Cincinnati’s heritage with
Northern Kentucky’s tight-knit community,
Alexandria Brewing Company is a familyfriendly, Rock & Roll themed brewery that
places high importance on fun. Opening in
March 2018, ABC will focus on a four-beer
roster of classics that prop up its rotating
list of seasonals, which includes the
honey-brewed Go Hop Yourself and the
murky-black Licking River Water. While
you’re waiting on these tongue-in-cheek
brews to be released, grab the truckerchic mesh hat that’s up for sale on the
brewery’s website.

Esoteric Brewery
Walnut Hills, esotericbrewing.
com

Their name implies arcane knowledge
— ancient forces that can only be discussed in hushed tones. Cincinnati’s first
black-owned brewery, set to open this
winter in Walnut Hills, owns its intrigue:
inspired by Egyptian mythos, the company
brands itself with the lotus symbol, which
is meant to represent the elevation and
rebirth it plans to bring to the local community. Esoteric plans to set up shop in
the neighborhood’s former Paramount
Building, which has remained unoccupied
for over 50 years, looming over the intersection of E. McMillan Street and Gilbert
Avenue. Esoteric will specialize in Belgian
beers served in traditional glassware.

Humble Monk
Rabbit Hash, facebook.com/
humblemonkbc

Formerly known as Rabbit Hash Brewery,
Humble Monk will brew its homegrown
creations atop what its owners believe
to be a network of catacombs. True to its
monastic name, Humble Monk looks to
the brewing practices of Trappist Monasteries for inspiration: the brewery’s “partigyle” technique yields three different
types of beer from a single mash, varying
in alcohol content and taste.

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Rebel Mettle Brewery
OTR, rebelmettlebrewery.com

Hoping to settle into its 40,000-squarefoot space on McMicken Avenue this
spring/summer, Rebel Mettle will honor
OTR’s former status as pre-Prohibition
America’s brewery capital, occupying
what was once the home of the historic
Clyffside and Sohn Brewery and offering
ales, lagers and maybe ciders.

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J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

third-shift brewers. They find out where
the brews are in their production stages,
what tanks need to be cleaned, what beer
needs to be moved to finishing tanks, if a
beer needs to be run through the centrifuge (which removes the particles from
the brewing process) and if a beer needs
to be carbonated so it can be ready for the
packaging team, who arrive at 7 a.m.
“Then we get to work,” she says. “The
three brewers, we rotate stations on the
brew deck, and then the other two will be
in the cellar, so that means we’re cleaning
tanks, we are moving beer through, moving yeast into tanks so we can get ready to
brew into them, cleaning parts, expanding
cider.”
Blair is passionate and fervent and
describes her work with a reverence that
is palpable. She’s a self-declared tomboy,
and acknowledges a certain measure of
a “boys’ club” perception about brewing,
albeit, more on the external front.
“The guys I work with are phenomenal,”
she says. “Guys outside of the beer industry, talking to me about beer, I receive a
shit-ton of sexism — pardon my language.”
Fellow Rhinegeist brewer Stacey Roth, a
16-year veteran of the industry and recent
Michigan transplant (where she worked for
breweries including Grizzly Peak, Arbor
Brewing, and Arcadia Brewing Company),
agrees that any sexism inside what’s
perceived to be an historically male-dominated workplace is less prevalent than one
might think.
“Working at Rhinegeist — there isn’t any
difference between any of us,” she says.
“Every once in a while, I won’t be able to
open a door or do this. A lot of times, they
won’t be able to fit their hands into something or squeeze through something, but
I can. Just like in any other situation, you
figure it out. You want to do the job, you figure out how to do it, regardless of whether
you’re female or male.”
The lingering societal perception of beer
as a traditionally male beverage versus
female-friendly drink is rapidly being dispelled. Roth says she’s seen a “huge evolution” of that perception, and both she and
Blair note the recent influx of sour beers
on the craft market as a good introduction
point. Roth helps run Fermenta, a group of
brewers (similar to Pink Boots) in Michigan, aimed at helping build camaraderie
for women in the industry.
“In starting to do these seminars and
meet-and-greets with Fermenta, I just
had women either wanting to get into the
industry or just wanting to learn more
about alcoholic beers in general, say that
they were glad they had a space to go to
where they felt comfortable,” she says.
“There’s more and more women that are
buying craft, learning about craft and
drinking it. I think it’s more of a women’s
thing than a guys thing nowadays.”
Cheers to that.

FROM PAGE 22

25

BREWERS GIVE BACK

Local breweries put a focus on philanthropy through sales and events
BY AU S T I N G AY L E

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

“B

26

eer builds community, and
community builds beer.”
Mike Stuart, director of
people and social strategy
at MadTree, takes pride in the brewery’s
tagline and makes it a reality through his
role facilitating the company’s charitable
actions.
With his team of brewers and an internal
committee, Stuart helps MadTree support
four core charities year-round: Give Back
Cincinnati, Starfi re, CityLink Center and
Cincinnati Community ToolBank. But the
brewery doesn’t stop there. It also gives
back to another 12 charities throughout
the year, highlighting one per month at
their taproom in Oakley via an array of
donation-focused events and games. The
committee already has each month’s charity scheduled through 2018.
“For us, community is not a one-time
thing or just a project-based thing,” Stuart
says. “It’s a part of our mission statement.
We have three cornerstones to our mission
statement, which are making quality beer,
taking care of our employees and supporting the community.”
Outside of the taproom, MadTree
recently partnered with a number of Cincinnati chefs to create Mix and Mash: Recipes for the Table and Glass. This 125-page,
full-color cookbook is riddled with recipes
that feature MadTree beer as an ingredient,
including braised pork belly with apple
butter, slaw and spaetzle and a vegetable
fritto misto. The $50 cookbook can be purchased on MadTree’s website and a portion
of the proceeds go to Newtown’s La Soupe,
a nonprofit committed to transforming
local food waste into nutritious meals for
food-insecure families in Cincinnati.
Of course, MadTree isn’t the only brewery to place an emphasis on charity and
supporting the community — Stuart and
Co. are merely an example of how Queen
City’s brewers are giving back, one pint at
a time.
Through Cincinnati’s The Cure Starts
Now foundation, which supports children’s
cancer research, both Rivertown Brewery
and Braxton Brewing Company have created special-edition beers to support the
cause.
Rivertown fi rst got involved with The
Cure Starts Now in 2016, teaming up

to create Brennan’s Bucknut Brew, a
chocolate peanut butter stout. Rivertown
donated a portion of the proceeds from
every keg sold back to the nonprofit.
Eager to remain involved, Rivertown
teamed up with organization again in 2017.
The brewery released Salted Carm-Ale in
November. Inspired by Lauren Hill, who
attended Mount St. Joseph University and
ultimately passed away from a rare form
of brain cancer, the brew is based on her
favorite candy. A portion of the proceeds of
pints sold at the taproom went back to The
Cure Starts Now and the beer ultimately
became Rivertown’s winter limited edition
series, seeing distribution throughout
Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Florida.
Lindsey Roeper, Rivertown’s “Dream
Facilitator” and wife of owner Jason
Roeper, has been overjoyed with their
relationship with The Cure Starts Now and
remains appreciative of the fact that she
and her husband are in a position to give
back.
“To sum it up in one word, I’d say it’s
amazing,” she says. “To be able to use our
business in a way that brings more good
into the world is just an amazing feeling.

We’ve been very blessed and worked hard
to be in this position to give back in meaningful ways.”
Braxton also partnered with The Cure
MadTree gives back
through monthly events.
PHOTO: PHIL HEIDENREICH

Starts Now, releasing Blueberry Pie Brown
Ale in September 2017 as part of their
collaboration with both Graeter’s and the
nonprofit. Taking flavor inspiration from
Graeter’s Elena’s Blueberry Pie ice cream
— Elena is the little girl who inspired the
creation of The Cure Starts Now — Braxton
canned the beer and donated a portion of
the proceeds.
Following a similar charitable model,
Listermann Brewing Company partnered
with the Cincinnati Zoo to create Team
Fiona, a New England-style IPA, last June
to support the Queen City’s favorite hippo.
Now canning the beer for the sixth time
since its release, Listermann general
manager Jason Brewer says Team Fiona
has been the source of $40,000 to $50,000
in donations — making the collaboration a
giant success.
Like MadTree, Listermann doesn’t limit
their charitable reach to one area: Brewer
and his team also work with Elementz,
an Over-the-Rhine-based and Hip Hopcentric nonprofit that helps inner city
youth fi nd their voice and engage in the
community.
Listermann works with Elementz on
beer collaborations like their IPAs Sabotage and Babycat Meowface and donates
the proceeds. The brewery also allows kids
and teens involved with the nonprofit to
spray paint one of the taproom’s outside
walls throughout the year.
Breweries also give back through weekly
events. Over-the-Rhine’s Rhinegeist
gives local nonprofits an opportunity to
fundraise at their taproom through the
Charitable Suds program. Every Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. a portion of the brewery’s proceeds go to that week’s organization. And on Wednesday nights at Ludlow,
Ky.’s Bircus, it’s “One For All Wednesdays,”
where $1 from each pint sold goes to a
selected cause.
As craft beer and drinking local continues to grow in popularity, Cincinnatians
can take pride in the fact that committed,
charitable-minded owners are behind
plenty of pints.

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

27

Where the magic happens.
P H O T O : B R I T TA N Y T H O R N T O N

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

W

28

hen it comes down to it, live music
and craft beer aren’t too dissimilar. They both revel in local flavor,
encourage experimentation and spawn
dedicated subcultures.
Bradley Plank, Jim Klosterman and Joe
Sierra, the trio behind Blue Ash-based Fretboard Brewing Company, seek the perfect
marriage of their two passions — music
and beer — by providing creation spaces
for local musicians to rattle off riffs while
grabbing brews at the taproom.
“We wanted to create a brewery themed
around music, how they intertwine with
each other,” says head brewer Plank.
Plank’s self-styled title in the company
is “Head Brewer of Positive Libations”
— a reference to Bob Marley’s “Positive
Vibration.”
Fretboard’s main stage hosts live performances nearly every night, putting an
emphasis on the sort of rootsy Blues tunes
and Americana that are nearly synonymous with microbrewed beverages. The
taproom is situated next to the brewing
equipment, all within sight of the performance stage.
“We have bands rent out studio space
and you can watch them on TV in the taproom and listen to them in what we call the
Consumption Station, where you can listen
to the bands practice,” Plank says. “It’s the
same with beer as it is with music — you
don’t ever see what goes into the process,
you only hear or taste the final product.
We’re trying as best we can to display the
creative journey to get to the fi nal product
in a polished process.”
Plank worked in IT and brewed beer as
a hobby for more than a decade before he
and the other founders of Fretboard took
the leap into professional brewing.
“This is my first professional job as a
brewer; my résumé is being built right
now,” Plank says. “I came with my homebrewing portfolio of 60 to 80 recipes and
we’ve brewed maybe 10 of them.”
Kevin Moreland, former head brewer for
Taft’s Ale House, recently joined Fretboard
as managing partner after an initial consulting contract. The addition of Moreland,
a locally renowned brewmaster who got his
start with Listermann Brewing Company
and founded their Triple Digit brand,
lends massive industry credibility to the
Fretboard team.
Plank’s partners Klosterman and Sierra,
who title themselves “Lead Guitar” and
“Drummer,” respectively, were so pleased
with Moreland’s consulting work that getting him back on board was a no-brainer.
And Moreland was as excited about their
direction — especially the music.
“In my career I’ve done pretty much all
the things you can do in beer. We all have

Fretboard specializes in German-inspired beers.

SONICS AND SUDS
Fretboard Brewing Company is rooted in
community, craft beer and live music
BY S E A N M . P E T E R S

a great passion for beer (and) for music as
well,” Moreland says.
He goes on to reminisce about Over-theRhine’s Barrelhouse Brewing Company, a
former brewery and music venue that was
located in the building that now houses
the Art Academy. Moreland sees a kinship
between Fretboard and the Barrelhouse
and says their goal is to construct a similar
experience.
“Our first craft beer experiences were in

a place we want to recreate that’s no longer
here,” he says. “(The Barrelhouse) did great
beer and they had great bands.”
In terms of great beer, Moreland’s dedication to brews that embrace experimentation is no secret. His recipes have earned
him acclaim in the local community.
“The first beer we brewed (at Fretboard)
was also one the hardest kinds to brew,
our Czech pilsner ‘Vlad the Impaler,’ ”
Moreland says.

P H O T O : B R I T TA N Y T H O R N T O N

“That was the fi rst beer we put into our
tanks. We haven’t changed one thing on
that beer since and it’s doing really well.”
After helping open both Taft’s Ale House
and Taft’s Brewpourium, Moreland left the
company in January 2017 to launch his own
consulting business, KDM Brewing Solutions, which took him across the city and
even abroad.
“I landed with Brad and the Fretboard
team through consulting,” Moreland says.
“I came in passionate about their vision,
what they wanted to do. I really clicked well
with Brad — I think Brad’s style of brewing
and mine align in what we want to do.
“Quality is important to us. A lot of
people can throw that word around, but
I tried Brad’s beers before he became a
professional brewer and I knew he had
great talent.”
Some notable mentions from the tap list
at Fretboard are the Dunkel, a traditional
brown German lager; Lyric, an extra pale
ale with mosaic hops; and Jazz, an American stout.
The brewery also released a new imperial stout called Nati Dread, infused with
smoked coconut and cocoa nibs from
Findlay Market’s Maverick Chocolate Co.
Fretboard raised money for ArtsWave at the
beer’s recent launch party.
“There’s so much variety. We’re just a
thirsty city,” Plank says. “We want to do
traditional style and get back to Cincinnati
roots-style brewing, and the German heritage is preserved with the lager, pilsners,
the bachs, the dunkel. Obviously IPAs are
still strong in the market, but what we’re
seeing is a reset on beer drinkers going
back to the basics.”
Along with beer and music, the taproom also offers classic barbecue fare
from Smoked Out Cincy. The pulled pork
sandwich is a popular option; they also
have smoked or fried wings, sides like mac
and cheese, chicken tenders for kids and a
veggie burger for vegetarians.
Fretboard Brewing Company is located
at 5800 Creek Road, Blue Ash. More info:
fretboardbrewing.com.

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Just 2 blocks North of the Aronoff Center.
Located on the streetcar route
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898 Walnut St.
WWW.yWcacincinnati.org/fitneSScenter
513-361-2116

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

|

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

YWCATriHeAlTHFiTnessCenTer

30

ARTS & CULTURE

Reviving
a Historic
Clubhouse
Breakfast buddies unite to
preserve a Hannaford
home and the legacy of
black women lifting
others up since 1904
BY K AT H Y S C H WA R T Z

M

A Few Good Men is helping
the Federation of Colored
Women’s Clubs
PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

again,” Harshaw says. A Few Good Men are
improving not just the women’s surroundings but also their spirits as they try to
recruit a new generation that will continue
to provide snacks at Douglass Elementary, visit nursing homes and volunteer at
health fairs.
“You know they say there’s nothing like
having a man around the house? There’s
nothing like having a group of men around
the house,” Orr says.
And what a house it is. This is the only
city federation clubhouse remaining in
Ohio, Orr says. The onetime residence
of late-19th century Mayor John Mosby
features Rookwood fireplaces in each
room, brass chandeliers, bay windows,
white-enameled spindles on the staircase
and a bas-relief sculpture in the foyer of a
woman accepting a sister’s helping hand.
Inspired by the resourceful women of the
1920s who pooled their dollars to buy the
home for $18,000 (about $250,000 today),
the men are now selling inscribed bricks
for $15 apiece to return the mansion’s vinyl
floors to hardwood.
The house is on the National Register
of Historic Places, but Harshaw says the
federation itself is an American treasure.
He notes that it was formed several years
before the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (1909) or
the Urban League (1910).
Harshaw, a retired banking executive

turned author and historian, received
monthly $25 scholarships from one of
the federation’s clubs during his junior
and senior years at Taft High School. That
amount was enough for him to pay his
family’s $15 rent and still have money for
clothes, his 1959 graduation cap and gown,
and a class ring. He wrote a book about
growing up in the segregated West End
from the 1940s to 1970s, a period he refers
to as “when we were colored.”
It’s an era that Samuel AbuBakr experienced as well, and he was reminded of it
after doing landscaping at the clubhouse
in 2015. Short on money to pay him, the
women instead offered him tickets to hear
author Wil Haygood speak. Now AbuBakr
feels the need to repay the women.
“I know some of us don’t like that word
(colored),” AbuBakr tells a recent breakfast
gathering. “We’re not talking about colored
people. We are talking about a time in our
history when we were so connected and
involved in everything that we did.” It was
a period before government grants, when
neighbors and even strangers reached into
their pockets to help someone in need.
AbuBakr’s breakfast buddies include
a who’s who of black Cincinnati: broadcaster Courtis Fuller, photographers C.
Smith and Melvin Grier, retired physician
Charles Dillard, beauty pageant founder
Robert Humphries and 93-year-old Leslie
Edwards, a mechanic with the Tuskegee

Airmen. But AbuBakr is quick to hold up
the everyday accomplishments of a group
of women whose motto is “Deeds Not
Words.”
One of the federation’s first acts was
establishing a kindergarten at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Walnut Hills. During
the migration of blacks from the South
in the mid-20th century, the clubhouse
offered women and children a place to stay.
“If these women’s deeds were put in a cup,
our cup would runneth over,” AbuBakr
says. “There’s no measuring what they’ve
done. You’re supporting the independence
of the people.”
AbuBakr says complete renovation of
the house, including a slate roof, will cost
about $238,000. But he believes that as
word gets out, money will come in. The
men and women have music, veterans and
health events planned into the summer.
“We’re going to figure it out,” AbuBakr
says. “I am so blessed to be a part of this
history, to be a part of this turnaround, to
see this house coming back, to see these
women smile again. To see them upstairs
(gathering historical photos) and hear that
chatter — that wasn’t here a year ago.”
John Harshaw and federation members
will speak Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Main
Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown. Free. A
related exhibit is on display through Feb. 14.
More info: cincinnatilibrary.org.

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

ore than a half-century ago,
before “black” and “AfricanAmerican” became rooted in our
lexicon, more than a thousand ladies of the
Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women’s
Clubs regularly filed into 1010 Chapel St.
in Walnut Hills to work for racial progress.
They poured into its 17 rooms to discuss
clothing drives, scholarships and donations to institutions like the Negro Sightless Society. The members of the federation,
established in 1904, looked after their own
from a place they proudly called their own
— a stately clubhouse that their visionary
founders had purchased in 1925 through
$15 shares.
Today just 54 members, ranging in age
from their 50s to more than 100 years old,
are continuing the federation’s mission of
“lifting others as we climb.” But the efforts
of those few good women now have a boost
from A Few Good Men.
Since fall 2016, about two dozen black
male friends have pitched in to handle
repairs and raise money to restore the
luster of the women’s historic brick home,
which was designed by famed Cincinnati
architect Samuel Hannaford (Music Hall,
City Hall) in 1888. Last June, the men’s
group moved their Tuesday breakfast from
the Queensgate Frisch’s to the clubhouse,
with each diner donating at least $10 a
week.
“This organization and this building kind
of sat dormant for quite a while,” John Harshaw, a member of A Few Good Men, says.
“Most young black women, black men, even
people in the (Walnut Hills) community,
didn’t know what it was.”
On Feb. 3, he and the women will share
the federation’s story during a Black
History Month presentation at the Main
Library.
President JoAnn Orr has belonged to the
city federation for more than 50 years, following in her mother’s footsteps. When Orr
joined, there were about 40 clubs representing several hundred members. Today
there are only five.
But “these ladies have come awake

31

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

CURTAIN CALL

32

They’re Only Human
BY R I C K PEN D ER

A play titled The Humans doesn’t reveal
shared by the sisters. It concludes, “Dance
much about its content. Aren’t most plays
more than I did. Drink less than I did. Go
about humans? Ensemble Theatre Cincinto church. Be good to everyone you love. I
nati’s set by Brian Mehring for its regional
love you more than you’ll ever know.”
premiere of Stephen Karam’s Tony AwardDistracted Erik has betrayed his marwinning play is an everyday, slightly
riage and lost his job; he’s overwhelmed
below-average, two-story living space:
by responsibility for his mother. Deirdre
Grungy off-white walls, few furnishings, a
can’t stop eating and fretting about her
solitary barred window, two card tables
daughters in New York City. Aimee’s
and six folding chairs.
longtime partner Carol has deserted her,
Dinner is about to happen, and the tiny
her employer has told her she’s no longer
orange-and-brown turkey decorations
needed and her colitis is back with a
indicate Thanksgiving. We’re in America,
vengeance. Brigid, an aspiring musician,
for sure — in New York City’s Chinatown —
is getting no traction in her search for
a neighborhood devastated by flooding following
Hurricane Sandy.
As the Blake family
arrives at the apartment
recently rented by Brigid
(Becca Howell) and her
boyfriend Richard (Jeff
Groh), it’s apparent that
they’re skeptical. They
try to put a good face on
it, but her disapproving
parents, Deirdre (Christine Dye) and Erik (Tony
Campisi), can’t contain
CRITIC’S
their judgmental, dubiPICK
ous observations. They’ve
driven three hours from
A family gathering is the source of drama in The Humans.
Scranton, Pa. with Erik’s
senile, wheelchair-bound
P H O T O : R YA N K U R T Z
mother (Dale Hodges).
Brigid’s cynical older sister
Aimee (Jennifer Joplin) is along, too, with a
meaningful work. Admirably portrayed by
dark cloud clearly hanging over her head.
veteran Cincinnati actors, they’re a family
The Blakes are a contentious family.
of Jonahs; beleaguered humans trying to
Still, why has Karam labeled his play The
survive while caring for each other.
Humans? My guess is that he wants us to
Brigid’s apartment building rumbles
see them as typical everyday folks, even
with threatening, thundering noises. Erik
though we soon learn they are plagued
and Aimee narrowly missed being victims
with an avalanche of fears that afflict
of 9/11, and everyone is made skittish by
many middle-class, blue-collar Americans
the building’s ominous growls and thumps.
— poverty, old age, unsatisfying jobs, ill
Erik is plagued by tortured nightmares, but
health — and even more fundamental
Richard tells him to embrace the dream
issues, including the loss of love and death.
of being lured into a tunnel (“Tunnels
Nice-guy Richard makes conversation
can just be stuff hidden from yourself, so
as he seeks to reduce the tension that
passing through one could be a favorable
keeps bubbling over. He mentions Quasar,
omen”).
a comic book he’s loved since he was a kid:
Erik dodges this advice with a joke about
“It’s about this species of like half-alien,
fortunetelling, but as the story ends, he’s
half-demon creatures with teeth on their
suddenly alone and in the dark with just
backs. … On their planet, the scary stories
one way out. It’s a frightening moment, but
they tell each other… they’re all about us.
perhaps Erik is on his way to something
The horror stories for the monsters are all
promising. It’s hard to tell. The Humans
about humans.”
isn’t a feel-good kind of show, but it’s a
There you have it. “Humans” are the
powerful glimpse at people who despersource of scary stories. This might lead one
ately need one another, clinging to hope.
to think that Karam’s play is depressing,
Inspired by this play, ETC has assembut in this production, staged by vetbled The Humans of Cincinnati, a collection
eran guest director Michael Evan Haney,
of portraits and interviews with dozens of
glimmers of love and hope keep shining
people from all walks of life throughout
through as rituals and family traditions
the area. They are on display at ETC and
are enacted.
online at humansofcincinnati.com.
Even though Hodges’ addled Momo
The Humans is at Ensemble Theatre
never speaks coherently, a heartfelt email
Cincinnati through Feb. 17. Tickets/more
she sent before the onset of dementia
info: ensemblecincinnati.org.
urging them to get beyond worrying is

Rockin’ Good Time at the Playhouse
BY R I C K PEN D ER

CRITIC’S
PICK

ONSTAGE

WANTS YOU TO WIN STUFF!

BARENAKED LADIES

JUNE 23 | PNC PAVILION

Visit CityBeat.com/win-stuff to enter for a chance
to win tickets to this upcoming show!

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

A whole lotta shakin’ is
onstage at the Cincinnati
Playhouse for Million Dollar Quartet. Back in 1956,
when an actual intersection of Pop music icons
Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins,
Johnny Cash and Jerry
Lee Lewis happened at
Sun Records in Memphis,
Tenn., there was common
wisdom that Rock & Roll
was a passing fancy. But
Sun’s owner Sam Phillips
(James Ludwig) knew
better. “Rock & Roll is not
a fad,” he declares. “It’s a
Sean McGibbon as Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet
damned revolution.”
This production conPHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER PHOTOGRAPHY
vincingly demonstrates
Phillips’ proclamation.
The first shots were fired in Sun’s grungy
also sense his envious frustration with
studio, a converted car repair shop lovPhillips’ attention to others.
ingly recreated on the Playhouse’s Marx
Seals has a solid grasp on Cash’s earnest,
stage with a detailed design by Adam Koch,
straightforward demeanor, and his lowreplete with gauges, stand-up microend vocal range is exactly right for familiar
phones, a balcony and a raised platform
numbers like “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I
for two accomplished back-up musicians:
Walk the Line.”
Brother Jay on the acoustic bass (Eric Scott
Wilford’s Presley has perfected the
Anthony) and drummer Fluke Holland
singer’s louche smile and rubber-legged,
(Zach Cossman).
gyrating stage presence, and he does a fine
But the focus is on the stars. First up we
job with the sensual delivery of familiar
meet upstart Lewis (Sean McGibbon), a
lyrics. Voth comes along as arm candy in
musical phenomenon who pounds out
a brilliant green dress, but she holds her
frenetic melodies on a spinet piano. Rockaown for two songs, the steamy “Fever” in
billy star Perkins (John Michael Presney)
the first act and the charge-’em-up “I Hear
turns up, dismayed by the new piano
You Knocking” in the second.
player, who Phillips is eager to cultivate.
Despite the stars’ evident individuality,
Next to arrive is an established star, solthey also sing together harmoniously on
emn Country & Western singer Cash (Sky
several numbers (“Down by the Riverside”
Seals). Then Presley (Ari McKay Wilford), a
and “Peace in the Valley” are given moving
past Sun talent wooed away from Sun by
renderings). McGibbon, Presney, Seals and
big-time recording company RCA, shows
Wilford turn in startlingly real perforup accompanied by Dyanne (Bligh Voth), a
mances as actors, vocalists and musicians.
gorgeous aspiring vocalist.
How convincing they are is reinforced
This pantheon of talent isn’t entirely
near the end of the two-act show when an
comfortable mixing. Cash knows he’s
actual photo from 1956 is projected and we
about to jump ship from Sun, but he can’t
hear a snatch of the music recorded that
find the right moment to tell Phillips. And
evening.
the brash upstart Lewis rubs everyone the
The production milks audience engagewrong way, at one moment joking that “I
ment with a series of closing numbers.
might just let you boys be my opening act.”
Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” is followed by
This isn’t simply a jukebox show with
bows and a reprise of “Down by the Rivergood tunes — there’s some real drama as
side.” They all leave the stage momentarily
Phillips struggles to hold on to a stable of
but return wearing glittering jackets for
young performers he has nurtured. Doufinal numbers by Presley (“Hound Dog”),
bling as the show’s narrator, Ludwig turns
Cash (“(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”) and Perin a convincing portrait as the producer
kins (“See You Later Alligator”), inspiring
whom the singers dub the “Father of Rock
some genuine audience interaction.
& Roll.”
Just as the audience feels it must be
McGibbon sports Lewis’ unruly mop of
over, Jerry Lee Lewis bounds back on for
golden curls and handles the manic piano
a breathtaking, zany, physical perforperformance antics required for songs like
mance of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”
“Real Wild Child” and “ Great Balls of Fire.”
Everyone was on their feet and shakin’ — a
He’s a constant, cocky magnet for attention.
rambunctious send-off for a highly enterAs Perkins, Presney is the most imprestaining evening.
sive guitarist, taking the lead on his own
Million Dollar Quartet continues at Playsongs, like “Matchbox,” and iconic numhouse in the Park through Feb. 18. Tickets/
bers associated with the others, including
more info: cincyplay.com.
Cash’s “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky.” But we

The 12 new features being presented at this
year’s Mayerson JCC Jewish & Israeli Film
Festival, which gets underway Thursday
and continues through Feb. 22, offer a
variety of unforgettable stories and characters. Like the festival’s theme —“Faces of
Israel”— the movies are rooted in an array
of experience and culture.
The quirky documentary Hummus!
The Movie will lead off the fest with a soldout screening at 20th Century Theater in
Oakley. It is an homage to its namesake
spread, layering it in a history that binds
Jews, Muslims and Christians together
in the Middle East and, if a stop at Trader
Joe’s is any evidence, worldwide. There’s
also Scaffolding (Feb. 8, Kenwood Theatre),
a coming-of-age film full of restlessness,
inevitable quarter-life angst and the conflicts of a 17-year-old negotiating his way
through family life and Israeli culture, and
Amor (Feb. 19, Mariemont Theatre), the
story of an artist returning to his childhood home in Israel and being confronted
with memories — some lyrical and awash
in nostalgia, others painful — as he
explores love and love lost.
These are just some of the stories that

Asher Lax stars in the Israeli film Scaffolding.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

PHOTO: GREEN PRODUCTIONS

34

will populate the festival, which will
present its features (often paired with
shorts) in five locations (Esquire Theatre
and Mayerson JCC, the event’s host, are
the other venues). This year, its 24th, the
festival is including more Israeli films than
usual to celebrate the 70th anniversary of
that country’s establishment.
Israeli film expert and screenwriter Galit
Roichman will lead discussions after films.
She’ll be at the Esquire on Monday for
Ben-Gurion, Epilogue. It’s a documentary
drawn from six hours of archival footage
of an elderly David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s
founding figure and first prime minister.
According to the festival’s website, at the
time the footage was shot, Ben-Gurion was
82 and living in a secluded desert home.
He speaks with hindsight on Zionism and
his “introspective soul searching provides

a surprising vision for the crucial decisions Israel faces today.”
Roichman will also be at Scaffolding
and Tuesday’s Mariemont screening of The
90-Minute War, a fiery mockumentary that
proposes an odd question: “What if the
feud between Israel and the Palestinians
could be solved by a soccer match?”
Among other features, Home Port follows a seaman who returns home to mend
a relationship with his daughter. Bye Bye
Germany, which is set in 1946 Frankfurt,
follows characters who survived the Nazi
regime. After the screening, Jodi Elowitz
from the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education will lead a discussion. The
documentary My Hero Brother follows a
group of young people with Down syndrome and their siblings as they journey
through the Himalayas on a meaningful
trek (psychologist Ryan Niemiec will lead
the post-screening discussion). Other films
to be shown include Across the Waters, And
Then She Arrived and The Law.
The closing-night (Feb. 22) title Big Sonia
follows a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor
after she receives an eviction notice. It’s a
humble portrait of a woman — both painful and triumphant — that
blends humor and honesty
to tell the story of a life
well-lived. Caroline Kennedy, founder and CEO of
Empower: Educate and
Inspire, will speak after
the 7 p.m. screening at the
20th Century.
Though the films
navigate Jewish and Israeli
culture, Mayerson JCC’s
Frances Kahan says she
and a committee of 15
sought balance when
choosing the selections.
She wants the festival to
have films that everyone
can appreciate.
“There are things that
are throughout each of
these films that people can
identify with,” she says. “Be it food bringing people together, which is something I
think that many cultures do, or relating to
your history and learning from it.”
Whether it’s a family drama or a romcom where you want to watch people fall
in love on the screen, Kahan says there’s
something for everyone.
As diverse as the films are in genre and
in character, the festival seeks to captivate
and explore rich, vibrant cinema while celebrating the people and experiences that
make up Jewish and Israeli culture.
The lessons learned from watching can
be applied universally.
For tickets or more information about the
Jewish & Israeli Film Festival, visit
mayersonjcc.org.

Recognized as the world’s largest publisher
of travel and tourism guides in English,
Fodor’s first book appeared in 1936 — the
European guide On the Continent: An
Entertaining Travel Annual. It was the start
of making Fodor’s a household name.
Intriguingly, that same year, another
guidebook was started — one that has
long been forgotten, but shouldn’t be. And
it may not be for much longer if a new
film has its desired impact. In 1936, Victor Hugo Green, a New York City postal
employee, presented The Negro Motorist
Green Book, a soon-to-be-annual publication for African-American travelers that
offered vital specifics for safe journeys
across the U.S. during the Jim Crow era.
It served to minimize the hardships
that African-Americans faced traversing
a nation where segregation and discrimination were commonplace and, in the
American south, brutally enforced by law.
Black motorists of the time needed to know
which white-owned businesses would be
willing to repair their cars, whether or not
hotels and restaurants were white-only
establishments and which locations were
whites-only after sundown.
The Green Book series ran from 19361967 and expanded its reach to cover most
of North America. The passage of the 1964
Civil Rights Act, which struck down racial
discrimination, negated the necessity for
the guidebooks, leaving them to seemingly
disappear from the cultural landscape.
But New York-based playwright and
author Calvin Alexander Ramsey, together
with Becky Wible Searles — an animation professor at Savannah College of Art
and Design — are hoping to recognize
the historic importance of the Green Book
series. They are working on The Green Book
Chronicles, an hour-long film combining
animation and interviews with people who

had connections with Green and/or the
travel guides. They are hoping for completion this year, and a 12-minute edit will
preview 6:30 p.m. Thursday at downtown’s
National Underground Railroad Freedom
Center (50 E. Freedom Way), with Ramsey
present to discuss the project and its
history. The event is free; reservations are
available through freedomcenter.org.
Ramsey’s interest in the subject is not
newfound. He penned a children’s book,
Ruth and The Green Book, that is a fictional
tale about a young African-American girl
and her experiences using the guidebook,
and he wrote a two-act play called The
Green Book.
In a promotional video for the project,
Searles recalls encountering Ramsey in
2012 “when, as a professor of animation at
the Savannah College of Art and Design’s
Atlanta campus, I took a group of my
students to see a live musical performance
with animation and puppetry developed
from Ruth and The Green Book.”
When I communicated with Searles recently via email, she mentioned
that “most people Calvin and I have met,
black or white, have never heard of the
Green Book.” She hadn’t until that stage
performance.
“By the end of the show, we were enlightened, inspired, and blown away,” she says.
“It was one of the best productions I had
seen about anything anywhere, making
a very difficult and complex subject into
an uplifting story of inventive generosity
that kids and their parents of all races and
backgrounds could connect with.”
Searles is a Medina, Ohio native who
graduated from University of Cincinnati’s
College of Design, Architecture, Art and
Planning in 1976 with a Bachelor’s Degree
in Art Education. At New York’s Pratt Institute, she earned a Masters in New Forms,
which included studying mixed-media art,
video and animation.
“I grew up hearing that (my) family
ancestors had owned a tavern on Lake
Erie that was a stop on the Underground
Railroad — Rider’s Inn in Painesville
(Ohio),” she says. “The tavern passed out
of Rider family hands around 1902, but
the concept of the Underground Railroad
always intrigued me growing up. So the
chance to work with Calvin was a natural
fit, and I thank the universe for the great
gift of working with him on it.”
With Ramsey’s research serving as the
foundation, The Green Book Chronicles has
gained momentum thanks to the pair’s
willingness to engage and incorporate
a host of willing participants. Consider
the Freedom Center event a chance to
learn early about a project that will attract
increased attention in the months ahead.

35

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

TELEVISION

36

‘This Is Us’ Continues to Captivate
BY JAC K ER N

The runaway success of This Is Us (9 p.m.
these identities in his portrayal of Randall
Tuesdays, NBC) is something of a surprise,
and he’s the crown jewel in a fantastic
considering network TV’s revolving door
ensemble. I particularly love the young
of new series and their struggle to compete
actors playing the Big Three at ages 8-10
with flashy cable fare. A second season,
and 15-17.
dozens of award nominations (including
And we’ve all fallen in love with sweet
the first broadcast drama series to be up for
Jack, personified by Milo Ventimiglia
an Emmy in five years) and several wins
in a rotation of facial hair to reflect the
later, it’s clear why the series strikes such a
time period. We also know that he dies
chord among audiences and critics alike.
at some point, with sparse details slowly
It was the comparison to a
previous NBC family drama,
Parenthood, that lured me
into This Is Us and, like millions of others, I was hooked
by the twisty, nonlinear
narrative following the Pearson family across multiple
time periods. Between the
substantial mix of diverse
characters, their various personal struggles and triumphs
at different points in life and
their complicated relationships with one another, every
viewer can identify with at
least one Pearson or storyline.
“There’s something for
everyone” can be a clichéd
trap. Try too hard to be
universally relatable and you
might lose touch with your
Justin Hartley(left), Chrissy Metz and Sterling K. Brown
audience completely. Then
there are the gut-wrenching
P H O T O : R O N B AT Z D O R F F / N B C
plot twists, often resulting in
a cliffhanger. There are hits
and misses. The reveal at the end of the
revealed: daughter Kate feels responsible
series premiere — that the show was actufor his death; it happened when the kids
ally flashing between 1980 and present
were teens in the late-’90s; a house fire is
day, following three siblings on their 36th
the cause. It wasn’t until the most recent
birthday and on the day the “Big Three”
episode that we finally saw the beginning
were born — was a thoughtfully calculated
of the end for Jack — and learned about the
surprise. Meanwhile, the cloud of Pearson
dangers of an unattended Crock-Pot.
patriarch Jack’s imminent death has needThe continuation of the fire scene
lessly hung over the series since its fifth
airs Sunday night after the Super Bowl
episode. Viewers have lamented this grim
(another new episode airs at its regular
mystery, especially when it seemed like
time Tuesday), which is sadly fitting for
the mystery would come to light in the first
the show’s timeline — everything goes
season finale, only to get a bait-and-switch.
down the night of that big game in 1998.
But more on that later.
Will This Is Us retain its captive audiThis Is Us manages to indulge and tease
ence after this long lingering question is
audiences (and sometimes string us along)
finally answered? Of course. I don’t think
while still capturing real human emotion.
anyone truly tuned in just to see if this is
However gimmicky or overly gratifying
the episode where Jack dies. In fact, I think
it may seem, the show has heart, and the
moving past this “Will he or won’t he?” will
ensemble acting to make it beat.
only benefit the series.
The show struck gold with its casting
Because more than serving as a grab
of Sterling K. Brown, who has won Emmy,
at human experiences or even cry-porn
Golden Globe and SAG awards (among
(there are some really funny, heartwarmothers) for his role as Randall. More than
ing scenes, too), This Is Us is really about
any of these crazy, mixed-up Pearson kids,
consequences, cause and effect and how
Randall is an extremely complex characone seemingly small moment can make a
ter. A black man adopted as a newborn
lifetime of an impact. The fact that it’s so
by a white family when they lose one of
popular, emotional or relatable will turn
their triplets in childbirth, Randall has to
some people off, but I say take the show for
try twice as hard to find his place. We’ve
what it is, cozy up with a loved one and just
seen him as an overachieving family man
enjoy this fun family therapy session.
balancing the high-pressure job; we’ve
Contact Jac Kern: @jackern
watched him break down and reveal all
his vulnerabilities. Brown captures all of

art; the colors were as
unique enough to feel new,
The Wheel
balanced as the freshness
but are simple enough not
3805 Brotherton
inside.
to feel pretentious. Each
Road, Oakley, 513The Wheel opened in
vegetable stands strong
271-0291, thewheemid-September. Before
in its own right, but when
loakley.com. Hours:
that, chef Antenucci
added
to a forkful of the
11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
attended the French Culicreamy, tangy dressing, it
Tuesday-Friday.
nary Institute, worked at
becomes a new flavor.
restaurants both in ManPicture: The scene from
hattan and San Francisco
Ratatouille when Remy
and was a personal chef for
holds up two ingredients
five years.
— a strawberry and a piece
“I think (The Wheel) is
of cheese — and combines
becoming a neighborhood gathering place
them. Colors fill the air and as the flavors
of sorts of people from different areas, like
roll across his tastebuds, different notes of
Hyde Park, Mariemont and Oakley,” Antemusic emerge.
nucci says. “We just want it to be a place
That’s how Antenucci’s food feels; it
where everyone feels welcome, almost as if
becomes more than the food itself. It’s an
you’re coming into our home to eat.”
artform that happens to be edible. Each
And the food did feel like home: simple,
ingredient is carefully placed to evoke a
loving, spontaneous and hearty. With
certain emotion, be it nostalgia or ecstasy,
one exception — the food at The Wheel is
joy or longing.
far better than any food I could get at my
The pizza-by-the-slice, which was a
actual home (sorry, ma).
special of the day, felt the same way. Thick,
As a side, I ordered a kale salad ($5.50),
crispy handmade crust was topped with
which came with watermelon radish and
basil pesto, garlic crushed tomatoes and
romanesco. Anchovy dressing comes on
a smattering of other spices. Not present?
the side. The dish was surprisingly light
Cheese. But, never fret, The Wheel’s reguand palate cleansing. Its ingredients are
lar pizza offering (pepperoni and speck) is

topped with mozzarella and ricotta. That
being said, this slice ($4.50) was better
without.
The ratio of oregano, basil and roma
tomatoes was somewhat sporadic, thriving on its inconsistency. The slice was
soaked in olive oil, which dripped from its
boundaries.
This food has a way of making you get
lost in its ingredients. Each one is treated
with care. It is food with a soul — with
history and family. It’s a scenery on its
own: a landscape where oil drips beneath
the horizon of freshly baked, homemade
bread — crunchy, yet soft. It’s speckled
in herbs and vegetables. It’s wistful and
honest, just like the music that inspires
Antenucci.
“The wheel is turning and you can’t slow
down/You can’t let go and you can’t hold
on/You can’t go back and you can’t stand
still/If the thunder don’t get you than the
lighting will.”
As the sign inside says, thank you, Jerry.

FIND MORE RESTAURANT NEWS
AND REVIEWS AT CITYBEAT.COM/
FOOD-DRINK

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

he Wheel is an Italian takeaway
restaurant housed on a well-hidden
residential block in Oakley. A spinning wheel hangs above the door; inside,
concert posters adorn pale blue walls,
joined by personal iconography curated by
owner Chrissy Antenucci.
It’s textured like a living room and you
can see slices of activity in the kitchen:
cooks rolling fresh dough and mixing
housemade sauces. A news clipping of
Antenucci’s grandmother, Norma, is
framed on the wall — an homage to a family history rooted in love of food (Norma
hosted a cooking show on WCPO in the
’50s).
The food provides evidence that cooking
is an act of love and creativity for Antenucci, who named The Wheel after a Grateful
Dead song. “I really like to cook the way
(the Grateful Dead) plays: walk out onto a
stage without a set list and see what happens,” she says.
On the surface, the ingredients seem
simple; I ordered the rosemary roasted
carrot sandwich ($9). The first bite alone
was enough to convert this Punk into a
Deadhead. The carrots were tender and
hearty. Within the dish, they were a vegetable transformed — I experienced a taste
metamorphosis with each new bite.
As a vegetarian, it was more exploratory and creative than most other veggie
sandwiches I’ve had. Kale peeked through
between bites of carrot; both were covered
in the perfect amount of romesco sauce
and garlic yogurt, the latter of which added
a surprisingly creamy touch. The bread,
which Antenucci makes fresh daily, is thick
— almost like foccacia — and cradled the
ingredients within.
My dining companion — also vegetarian — tried the grilled mushroom sandwich ($9). It was topped with local cheddar,
arugula, pickled onion and spread with
barbecue aioli. Despite being loaded with
ingredients typically associated with
grease, Antenucci managed to create a
sandwich that preserved the oily nature of
the contents without it feeling overly heavy.
Both sandwiches were spectacles of

39

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THE DISH

Central Kentucky’s Cold Beer Cheese
BY A L I S O N B A X T ER

Not all beer cheese is created equal — or
served at the same temperature. In Central
Kentucky, the way they make their decadent app is a bit different than the process
we use in the Queen City, but a local author
says: If it’s not cold, it’s not traditional.
When the term “beer cheese” comes
to mind, most people think of a hot dip
paired with some type of salty chip, bread
or soft pretzel — a gooey spread that
combines and melts two of humanity’s
favorite vices. But Central Kentucky beer
cheese is served chilled and made with just
four ingredients: cheddar cheese, garlic,
cayenne pepper and, of course, beer.
Writer (and CityBeat freelancer) Garin
Pirnia tells a story of authentic cold beer
cheese in her recently published The Beer
Cheese Book, which details the history of
the cold dip, where it came from and why
it’s so appetizing.
Pirnia, a Covington resident, fell in love
with beer cheese while at Party Town in
Florence, Ky. Confused yet intrigued by the
cold spread, she had to try it.
“It was a pre-packaged spread made by
Kentucky Beer Cheese, which is based near
Lexington. I tried it and loved it,” she says.
Immediately impressed, she researched
the decadent snack. Following the first
taste of cold beer cheese, she attended The
Beer Cheese Festival in Winchester, Ky., in
2014. Held each June, this festival is the
only one in the world dedicated to the food.
Winchester claims to be the city where
cold beer cheese originated, and it’s also
home to the “Beer Cheese Trail,” an eightrestaurant jaunt through Clark County
where intrepid eaters can sample the
cheese spread at the different establishments (and get a T-shirt). Learning more
about the dip, Pirnia decided to bring her
knowledge a tad north to Cincinnati.
Many believe that this loveable appetizer comes from German descent, which
is a good guess considering it’s commonly
found under “appetizers” at most German
pubs and taverns around the city. The
real story is that the original cold beer
cheese was made in 1939 across the river
(and about an hour-and-a-half south) in
Winchester.
“Johnnie Allman and his cousin Joe came
up with the recipe so they could sell more
beer at their restaurant (The Driftwood
Inn), which was located on the Kentucky
River,” Pirnia says.
They thought that by adding beer and
cheese into one dish, it would make their
restaurant-goers order more beer. They
were right. This was the first documented
collaboration between these delicious
treats.
Pirnia’s The Beer Cheese Book is the first
to be published completely devoted to the
dip. “There are books out about beer and
cheese pairings, and some beer cheese
recipes are featured in cookbooks, but my
book is the first one to include recipes, the
history of beer cheese and a total of 216

A local writer created the cold beer cheese bible.
PHOTO: PROVIDED

pages about the food,” Pirnia says.
The book includes 20 recipes ranging
from beer cheese buttermilk biscuits and
beer cheese crab and broccoli casserole
to pawpaw beer cheese and beer cheese
cupcakes.
“The thing about beer cheese is, most
people feel the need to not share their
recipes. There’s a weird secrecy surrounding it,” Pirnia says. “Some people wouldn’t
even tell me what kind of beer or brand of
cheese they used. Because of that, I had to
build most of the recipes myself.”
The beer cheese guru also makes her
own spread at home, the traditional way.
Any beer is suitable — lagers, IPA’s, even
porters. “Some people have spent decades
perfecting their family recipe, which is
weird because most recipes are only a
handful of ingredients,” she says. “But the
kind of beer and cheese you use makes a
big difference.”
“There are other variations, like adding
jalapeños or buttermilk or cream cheese,”
Pirnia adds.
Around Cincinnati, most locals have
never tried the cold dip, just its hot counterpart. Pirnia admits she has to explain to
some natives what beer cheese even is. But
you can find authentic Kentucky-style beer
cheese at places like Servatii, Kremer’s
Market, Tousey House, Moerlein’s taproom
and Longfellow. Otherwise, most restaurants and breweries in the area serve the
warm dip.
“I do encourage people to try the recipes
and to travel to Central Kentucky and visit
the Beer Cheese Trail and the Beer Cheese
Festival,” Pirnia says. “Bourbon country is
close enough to the Beer Cheese Trail that
people can do both in the same visit.”
It may not be Cincy’s famous 5-way chili
spaghetti, but we have to try new things
sometimes.
The Beer Cheese Book, published by the
University Press of Kentucky, is available
online and select booksellers.

The Wine and Food of Italy
— This class pairs food and
wine. Get transported to
the Italian countryside with
a menu of fennel, radicchio and olive panzanella,
chicken and sausage
caccitore, baked parmesan
polenta and more. All will
be complemented with wine
selections. Noon-2:30 p.m.
$75. Jungle Jim’s, 5440
Dixie Highway, Fairfield,
junglejims.com.
Cellarman’s Tour — The
Brewing Heritage Trail
leads this tour featuring the
tales of several Cincinnati
breweries, plus the city’s

past and present brewing
traditions. Learn about the
19th-century workers who
built the dangerous lagering
tunnels and the Beer Barons
who built their fortunes
producing local brews. Tour
includes a visit underground
into the lagering cellar
of the Schmidt Brothers
Brewery and a beer tasting
at the Christian Moerlein
Malt House Taproom. 1:30
p.m. By donation. Leaves
from the Christian Moerlein
Malt House Taproom, 1621
Moore St., Over-the-Rhine,
brewingheritagetrail.org.

liv e m us i c
february 1
shiny & the spoon
february 2
michelle deal
& company

carol aNN’s carousel
13 ride pass for only $10

WEDNESDAY 07

Bread Baking II: German
Breads — Led by bakers
John DePuccio and Jesse
Bonney, students will learn
how to make traditional
German bread. Make your
own pan bread and learn
about the history and types
of German bread. 6-9 p.m.
$75. Findlay Kitchen, 1719
Elm St., Over-the-Rhine,
tablespooncookingco.com.

Wolf of All Streets
Cincinnati’s Yoni Wolf takes a break from shopping a
new TV show to take Why? back on the road for another
U.S. tour
BY B R I A N B A K ER

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

F

42

or most musicians, having a band
and the attendant writing, recording
and touring it entails would be more
than enough to occupy the bulk of their
time. Cincinnati’s Yoni Wolf is not most
musicians.
For decades, besides his globally
beloved and acclaimed Art-Rap-soloproject-turned-Art-Pop-band Why?, Wolf
has been nearly sociopathic in his pursuit
of musical adventures, recording and performing with various collaborators under
a plethora of identities, including Greenthink (with Doseone), Clouddead (with
Doseone and Odd Nosdam), Hymie’s Basement (with Andrew Broder) and Apogee
(Doseone, Mr. Dibbs and his brother Josiah,
also a member of Why?), among others.
Wolf has always done production work
and that’s remained a part of his arsenal —
he’s currently helming the board for a new
album from Cincinnati band The Ophelias.
But he’s also been busy in recent years
on projects outside of the music realm,
including his popular and long-running
interview/commentary podcast, The Wandering Wolf, although he’s dialing back on
that slightly.
“I started the podcast at the beginning of
2013,” Wolf says. “I did 100 episodes, every
single Wednesday, without missing a week.
I realized I wasn’t making any music and
I don’t get paid for the podcast, so it was
a problem. I want to say I have that kind
of self-discipline, but it’s more like selfflagellation. I enjoyed it, but at some point I
had to relax a little bit. I love asking people
about themselves. I always learn something new from every conversation that I
can integrate into my life or my work, and
I’ve met a ton of new people doing this. It’s
forced me to be extroverted where I tend
to be introverted naturally. It’s been really
good for me.”
Wolf recently worked up a television
version of The Wandering Wolf with videographer/director (and Culture Queer singer/
guitarist) Scott Fredette, and the pair is
shopping around the idea of turning these
segments, filmed in the Cincinnati area,
into a series for an independent network.
The idea is to take the template of talking
to people involved in music, the visual arts,
food, local politics and activism and apply
it to other cities around the country.
“It’s a sped-up, drugged-out version of
the podcast,” Wolf says with a laugh. “I
did like 18 hour/hour-and-a-half-long
interviews, but we only use like a minute
of each one, so it’s fast-paced. We’re going

to pitch it to Netflix and Vice and Amazon,
whatever. The content gatekeepers of the
world. We’ll see what happens.”
Outside of multimedia endeavors, Why?
remains a primary focus of Wolf’s. He and
the band are prepping for another round
of coast-to-coast touring behind Why?’s
2017 release, Moh Lhean. The twist is that
the occasion for this particular run around
the country is the imminent release of a
remixed version of Moh Lhean. The tracks
have been retooled by the likes of Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier and Islands’ Nick Diamonds and packaged in a box set of eight
7-inch vinyl singles, with Why?’s original
track on one side of each platter and the
remix on the flip. The package is limited to
350 copies and will be released on Feb. 5.
“It’s a shtick, of course, but it’s a throwback; it comes in its nice little carrying
case,” Wolf says of the project. “It’s a way
to extend the whole journey for us, and
involve friends of ours.”
There was not quite that level of journey
extension for Why? after the release of
2012’s Mumps, Etc., which was followed by
two EPs, 2012’s Sod in the Seed and 2013’s
Golden Tickets. In the subsequent four
years, Wolf started The Wandering Wolf —
he’s now done over 125 episodes — and
collaborated with old friend Serengeti (as
Yoni & Geti) on a concept piece about the
difficulty of balancing real life with band
life titled Testarossa, which was released
in 2016. There wasn’t any particular reason
for the lack of a Why? album and there
wasn’t any particular reason for the band
to start working on one.
“I think it just took time to marinate and
it came out the way it needed to,” Wolf
says. “Things just started to rev up, I think.
I found myself sitting on songs, and eventually it’s like, ‘Oh, wait, it’s an album.’ I
found myself not wanting to force it. If I did
have deadlines, things might be a little different, and the output and timelines would
be different. For whatever reason, I don’t
have deadlines. Obviously, I’ve got to make
a living, so there’s that aspect, but other
than that, I’m pretty free to finish things
when I finish them.”
Wolf isn’t being cagey when he’s vague
about the nature of the upcoming Why?
tour, simply because that aspect doesn’t
gel until rehearsals progress. He admits
that they’ll likely work with a ratio of onethird Moh Lhean songs and two-thirds
back catalog for the set list (“We like to
throw in a couple of old treats from back
in the day, that half of the audience is

Yoni Wolf of Why?
PHOTO: PROVIDED

like, ‘What the fuck is that?’ and a couple
of ultrafans are into,” he says). And Wolf
notes that once he gets his current packed
schedule cleared, he’ll get back to working
on new material, some of which are tracks
that didn’t work for Moh Lhean, for an
album he’s tentatively considering for an
early 2019 release. The only thing for sure is
that the next Why? album won’t sound like
the last Why? album. Or any Why? album,
for that matter.
“It gets stagnant. I enjoy changing it up,”
Wolf says. “We’re not making car axles
that have to work the same way every
time. I think the next one will be different. By the nature of what it is, it should

express something new and fresh and real
every time. It doesn’t happen with magic;
there should be magic in it, but that’s not
quantifiable. I didn’t love the process of
Moh Lhean the whole time, it was arduous
— the perils of home recording but wanting
high fidelity. In retrospect, it sounds great
because it adds an organic quality you
don’t get otherwise, but it’s a lot of work.
“We’ll see what the future brings. Robots.
Or interns. Or intern robots. Even better.”
Why? plays Friday at Woodward Theater
with Open Mike Eagle. Tickets/more info:
woodwardtheater.com.

SPILL IT

Winter Blues Fest Expands in Size and Scope
BY M I K E B R EEN

BY M I K E B R EE N

Haley Says, “Shut
Up and Sing”
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
expressed her disappointment in
the recent Grammys for “ruin(ing)
great music with trash.” The ire of Nikki
Haley was drawn by the show’s attempt
at humor and light political commentary
in a skit in which various musicians (and
Hillary Clinton) auditioned to be the
audiobook narrator of the Trump White
House book Fire and Fury. “Some of us
love music without the politics thrown in
it,” Haley tweeted in a shrewd throwback
tribute to the patriots who burned Dixie
Chicks records after the trio criticized
George W. Bush. Haley’s music-critic
credentials were first established in 2013,
when she wrote on Twitter, “Heard ‘Who
Let the Dogs Out’ by Baha Men on the
way to Chester County! Forgot how fun
that song was!”

Tone-Deaf Tone
The Grammys are perennially
pressured to show more musical
diversity in the general award
categories, and the Recording
Academy usually acquiesces. They’ve
never come out and said, “Maybe if Hip
Hop artists just tried harder.” Inconceivably, especially given the current social
climate, that’s essentially how Recording
Academy prez Neil Portnow responded
to those upset by the low number of
female artists nominated, telling Variety
that women are always welcome, they
just need to “step up.” The industry’s
only responsibility, he suggested, was to
“make the welcome mat very obvious.”

Music and Name
Trends
A recent survey of baby-name
trends by names.org showed how
the rise in popularity of several
monikers is tied to the popularity of certain music stars. According to the study,
Pop icon Mariah Carey has lent her name
to the most babies. While the numbers
spiked during career peaks (and dipped
during downturns like Glitter), the number
of baby girls named Mariah has remained
at a level much higher than before Carey
was famous. The study also found
naming surges related to the success
of everyone from Aretha Franklin and
Sheena Easton to Adele and Rihanna. As
for boys, in the Top 20, only former One
Direction singer Zayn Malik was shown
to have had a unique corollary impact,
though the impending thousands of baby
Lil Uzis will likely change that in time for
next year’s survey.

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18 | C I T Y B E AT. C O M

In early January, Blues fans
from around the world got
a dose of what Ohio has to
offer at the International
Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., which annually brings together artists
from around the world. This
weekend, local fans will get
a chance to check out those
musicians and many more
(from Greater Cincinnati and
beyond) when the 2018 Cincy
Winter Blues and Heritage
Fest comes to the Duke
Energy Convention Center
The Whiskey Shambles
(525 Elm St., Downtown,
duke-energycenter.com).
P H OTO : M A RY B E T H W E AV E R
The Cincy Blues Society
has been presenting a winter
festival for the past several years (a comTaft, Jay Jesse Johnson Band, Cheryl &
panion to its long-running summertime
Shorty (Cheryl Renée and Shorty Pullie
festival at Sawyer Point) on a few stages at
Starr), Jimmy D. Rogers, Ralph & the
downtown’s The Phoenix, but this year’s
Rhythm Hounds, The Whiskey Shamevent steps things up with some higher
bles, The Sonny Moorman Group, Greg
profile national headliners, necessitating
Schaber, The Medicine Men, Strum n’
the move to the larger Convention Center,
Honey, The Tempted Souls Band, G. Miles
where more than 30 acts will perform on
and the Band of Helping Hands, Johnny
five stages Friday through Saturday.
Fink & the Intrusion, Leroy Ellington
Modern Blues guitar hero Tinsley Ellis
Band, The Beaumonts, John Ford, Marcos
headlines Friday, joined on the bill by
Sastre, Noah Wotherspoon, Joe Wannabe
Cincinnati native Noah Hunt, the former
and Lyn Payne Holland.
frontman for Cincy band Uncle Six who
For the full schedule, ticket info
has been singing lead vocals in the Kenny
and more details, visit cincyblues.org/
Wayne Shepherd band for more than a
winter-blues-fest.
decade and a half now. Saturday’s national
More Local Notes
headliners are New York City band Jane
• Root Cellar Xtract, the Country Rock
Lee Hooker, which has been drawing
band whose Rear View Mirror Eyes was one
acclaim for its punkish brand of Blues Rock,
of the top albums released by local musiand rising Blues/Americana sensation
cians in 2017, will be paying tribute to other
Samantha Fish.
Cincinnati songwriters during its show
The lineup is largely rounded out by a
Friday at Southgate House Revival (111 E.
great representation of the current state of
Sixth St., Newport, Ky., southgatehouse.
the Cincinnati Blues scene, as well as some
com). Along with RCX tunes, the group will
regional acts, but this year’s festival also
also play songs written by some of their
extends beyond the Blues (thus the “and
favorite area artists, including Noah Smith,
Heritage” addition to the name). Friday
John Ford, Mark Becknell, Jim Pelz and
and Saturday, for example, the DHR Guitar
Jeremy Francis, who kicks the show off
Heritage Stage spotlights Jazz musicians,
with his own set at 9 p.m. Admission is $8.
including local players like Mike Wade,
• The lineup for this summer’s Bunbury
Eugene Goss, The Faux Frenchmen, Steve
Music Festival was recently announced.
Schmidt, Pat Kelly and Brandon ColePerforming alongside blockbuster headman, as well as renowned non-Cincinnati
liners like Jack White, blink-182 and The
guitarists Jack Wilkins and Rhett Butler.
Chainsmokers at the June 1-3 festival at
Blues still makes up the bulk of the festiSawyer Point/Yeatman’s Cove will be a
val though. Artists appearing at the Cincy
trio of Cincinnati acts — progressive Hard
Winter Blues and Heritage Fest who are
Rock crew Lift the Medium (which scored
fresh off of performing at the International
the Cincinnati Entertainment Award for
Blues Challenge include Cincy Blues SociMetal/Hardcore/Hard Rock at last year’s
ety representatives the Doug Hart Band
CEA ceremony), Pop Punk/Post Hardcore
and Brian Keith Wallen (who made it to
band Friday Giants and Synth Pop act
the finals in Memphis), Ben Levin (playing
Moonbeau (winners of the 2017 CEA in the
with The Heaters), Ricky Nye (playing with
Electronic category). For tickets and full
Chris Douglas), The SoulFixers, Chris
lineup details, visit bunburyfestival.com.
Yakopcic and The BITS Band, featuring
students from the Society’s Blues in the
Contact Mike Breen:
Schools program.
mbreen@citybeat.com
Other Greater Cincinnati artists performing over the weekend include Dudley

MINIMUM
GAUGE

43

SOUND ADVICE
Joe Buck Yourself

C I T Y B E AT. C O M |

J A N . 3 1 – F E B . 6 , 2 0 18

Thursday • Southgate House Revival

44

Throughout his 20-plus-year career,
Murray, Ky. native Jim Finklea (aka Joe
Buck) has consistently aligned himself
with the most visceral projects and operated at the highest possible intensity. The
band that brought him to the spotlight
was Gringo, a rootsy Punkabilly trio
with then-girlfriend Leila Vartanian that
sounded like whisper-to-scream demos
for X in full Metal Knitters mode, with
Patti Smith tagging in for Exene Cervenka.
Gringo released two albums in the ’90s
for Chicago’s Pravda label before breaking up, which led Buck to join J.D. Wilkes
in the Legendary Shack Shakers for the
band’s blistering 2003 sophomore album,
Cockadoodledon’t.
After just one outing with the Shakers, Buck began his solo career under
the banner of Joe Buck Yourself, releasing his debut album, Joe Buck Yourself
Motherfucker, in 2004. At that point, Buck
had already provided backing vocals to
Hank Williams III’s Boot #3 Pre-Release
“bootleg” album, and in 2006 he took on a
more prominent role with Hank 3, playing
upright bass on a number of his albums
while also touring with Williams’ Metal/
Punk outfit Assjack and solo backing unit
The Damn Band.
In between stints with Hank 3, Buck
has concocted a collection of cool, crazy
solo releases, including three albums, the
latest of which was 2012’s Who Dat? There
is not a single molecule of back-down or
compromise in Joe Buck’s body, and his
one-man-band catalog holds all the proof
to back up that contention. There may
well be a somewhat muted atmosphere to
some of the material on Who Dat?, but it
shouldn’t be construed as Buck’s attempt
to curry favor with a wider audience. It’s
more like aging a fine barrel of bourbon
until it has more bite than a bayou full of
alligators and enough mellowness that you
don’t even feel the teeth.
Imagine the DNA of Rev. Horton Heat
and Mojo Nixon engineered into a single
organism and then flooded with enough
gamma radiation to Hulk it up. Give it a
stringy mohawk, a simmering rage and a
battered Gibson, call it Joe Buck Yourself
and unleash it on an unsuspecting and
grateful world. (Brian Baker)

Joe Buck Yourself
PHOTO: PROVIDED

creative force Zion Godchaux.
Godchaux’s parents’ full musical background gives partial insight into BoomBox’s sound. Donna Jean Godchaux was
a singer and session musician in Muscle
Shoals, Ala. and can be heard on classic
recordings like Percy Sledge’s “When a
Man Loves a Woman.” She joined The
Grateful Dead in the early ’70s with her
husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux —
in the middle of their eight-year tenure
with the group, the couple welcomed Zion
(middle name “Rock”) into the world.
Keith and Donna formed The Heart of
Gold Band in 1980 after leaving The Dead,
but Keith died tragically in a car accident
after the group’s first show in San Francisco. In the early aughts, Donna revived
Heart of Gold with the help of Zion, who
wrote songs, sang and played drums,
percussion, guitar and sax on the band’s
comeback At the Table album.
Another part of the Heart of Gold revival
was sound engineer Russ Randolph. Zion
and Randolph bonded over similar musical tastes — which, on top of classic Soul
and Rock, also included House music (Zion
was a DJ during the ’90s), Modern Rock

BoomBox

Saturday • 20th Century Theater

Over the past couple of decades, Electronic music has increasingly become as
much a part of the fabric of the eclectic
“Jam band” scene sound as extended guitar
solos. BoomBox is one of the best representatives of the sonic crossover, because you
can easily trace the lineage of the Electro/
Funk/Pop project back to Jam icons The
Grateful Dead, not just in the music’s
DNA, but also in the literal DNA of guiding

Last fall, Portland, Maine Indie Rock
trio Weakened Friends released “Hate
Mail,” a single featuring guest guitarist J.
Mascis. Nabbing the legendary Dinosaur Jr.
frontman for a scorching cameo is a pretty
decent get for a band that’s barely been
around three years. “Hate Mail” is a great
platform for Mascis’ guitar voodoo, since

Slayer – June 6,
Riverbend

Weakened
Friends’
sonic profile isn’t too far off the beam from Dinosaur
Jr.’s. Guitarist Sonia Sturino plays with a
visceral passion for melodic noise and controlled chaos similar to what Mascis has
perfected over the years, while the rhythm
section of bassist Annie Hoffman and
drummer Cam Jones possesses the slippery bedrock quality that Mascis seems
to prefer. The point of departure comes
through the mic, as Sturino sings with the
unhinged intensity of Björk, absent the
sometimes impenetrable artifice, and with
plenty of Pop/Punk fury in its place.
Weakened Friends coalesced in 2015
after Sturino moved to Portland from
Toronto and began writing for her band
Box Tiger, which was in the midst of mixing a new album. Sturino quickly realized
that she had a pile of material that didn’t fit
Box Tiger’s approach and so she presented
the songs to Jones, her roommate and Box
Tiger bandmate, to see if he’d be interested
in fleshing them out. Sturino met Hoffman
when Box Tiger and Hoffman’s band, The
Field Effect, played a show together, and a
mutual friend encouraged Sturino to contact Hoffman about joining the new project.
Hoffman was ecstatic about the offer; their
shared bill was The Field Effect’s last show
before a hiatus, and Hoffman was actually
considering a band-less life going forward.
In short order, the trio worked up
Sturino’s songs, released the EP Gloomy
Tunes and started doing shows with the
likes of Juliana Hatfield, Silversun Pickups
and Beach Slang. In 2016, the trio dropped
the Crushed EP to equally enthusiastic
reviews. “Hate Mail” and a celebrated
South By Southwest appearance last year
exponentially increased interest in Weakened Friends.
We can only hope that the big news
of 2018 will be the release of Weakened
Friends’ first full-length album and that
“Hate Mail” was just a small glimpse into its
greatness. (BB)

and Hip Hop — and began making music
together separate from Heart of Gold. The
pair created BoomBox in 2004, the same
year At the Table was released.
BoomBox is definitively an Electronic
project, with Randolph handling the drum
programming and other tech in concert,
while Godchaux fronts the band with his
vocals and guitar. The duo instantly ingratiated itself into the Jam band scene with
its mix of hypnotic rhythms, atmospheric
psychedelia and heavy elements of Soul,
Rock and Blues, finding the sweet spot
between programmed and organic sounds.
BoomBox became a regular presence on the road, playing huge festivals
and shows with the likes of Particle, The
Disco Biscuits and The Motet, which joins
BoomBox later this year to co-headline
Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
But BoomBox’s sound has wide appeal that
extends beyond Jam die-hards — with a
solid songwriting core, many of the tracks
on 2014’s Filling in the Color are in line with
the ElectroPop sensibilities of acts like
Empire of the Sun or (early) MGMT.
Last year, after Randolph left BoomBox
amicably, Godchaux enlisted DJ Harry,
a Colorado DJ/producer who has been
exploring the Electronic/Jam band synergy
even longer than BoomBox (his 2001 debut
album was a remix project of music by the
band The String Cheese Incident). Western
Voodoo, the first BoomBox album since
Randolph’s departure (which Godchaux
has described as “Dirty Disco Blues”), is
due later this year. (Mike Breen)

Def Leppard/Journey
– May 30, U.S. Bank
Arena

Live Music

45

LISTINGS

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to Mike Breen at mbreen@citybeat.com. Listings are subject to change.
See CityBeat.com for full music listings and all club locations. H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

IN THE CIRCUIT COUR OF
THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR ORANGE
COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE
NO: 2017-DR-17433 KIMBERLY ANNE DWYER-ROEW,
Petitioner/Wife and KEEGAN
ALLEN ROWE, Respondent/
Husband NOTICE OF ACTION
FOR PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
WITH MINOR CHILD(REN)
AND OTHER RELIEF TO:
KEEGAN ALLEN ROWE YOU
ARE NOTIFIED that an action
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to the address on record at
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20th day of December, 2017.
By: CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT
COURT STEPHANIE WOODS
425 North Orange Ave. Suite
320 Orlando, Florida, 32801

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